Can You Hear Him Now?
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” [Revelation 3:22 NAS]
Apart from some radical factions in the Christian community, it is generally assumed that everyone in Christ has been given an ear to hear, but that is about as far as it gets for most. For who wants to admit that they have never heard His voice[1], but if this is indeed true, how can they be so sure that they have not[2]?
No, it will probably not be a booming voice coming out of a storm that you will hear like Job did[3]. Neither will it be like a whisper on the wind, as in the case of Elijah[4]. For it is mostly through our thoughts that our Heavenly Father likes to speak to us[5].
Nonetheless, this is not to deny that our Heavenly Father will sometimes speak to someone in an audible voice that is most definitely coming from outside of themselves[6] . I have experienced this on a number of occasions myself.
The first time I was made aware of hearing our Heavenly Father’s audible voice was when He said, “Introduce Me,” but it has mostly been just calling me by name since. For I have had many doubts about being pleasing in His sight[7].
Furthermore, I have been allowed and enabled to also experience dreams that were vivid enough to be thought of as visions. For it was as if I was actually there[8].
Yes, there is a difference between visions and dreams. For visions are experienced while awake[9], but let us resist the temptation to get technical about things when it really does not really matter either way[10].
No, it should not be assumed that everyone has an ear to hear. For as it is with everything else about our Heavenly Father’s spiritual gifts, it all depends upon what He wants to accomplish in and through someone that determines when, and to what extent, they will be allowed and enabled to hear what He has to say[11].
On the other hand, are there not many references made about having a gut feeling about something? Perhaps you have had one yourself?
How about all that is said about one’s inner voice? Could it be that these are just borrowed lines from some ancient sonnet, or could it be that there really is something to it?
Scientific research has even been conducted upon the phenomenon of certain twins having a special bond between them, and are there not times when someone will have a thought about something at the very same time as another in their midst? Surely there is more than genetics and environmental influences to these things.
No, this is not to suggest that every thought and feeling that we may have is a message from God[12], but it would do us all well to not take too much for granted. For our Heavenly Father is much nearer to us all than what most would dare to even consider[13].
Utter nonsense? Perhaps, but if it is indeed true that we were all created to be His children by faith[14], why would He not want to have a great personal interest in every aspect of our daily lives[15]? After all, is this not what is naturally expected of our earthly parents, and are not our Heavenly Father’s ways much higher than theirs[16]?
No, it is not just in regards to what we would naturally consider as being spiritual matters that our Heavenly Father would seek to guide us. For even such supposedly trivial things as what we are going to eat and what we are going to wear are all part of His plan[17].
Not buying it? Well, consider this: Casting the whole of your care—all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all—on Him; for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully [Ps. 55:22]. [1 Peter 5:7 AMP]
No, you do not have to take “my” word for it. For it is for such a purpose as this that our Heavenly Father’s Holy Scriptures were given[18], but where have all the Bereans gone[19]?
Yes, the points and counter-points about this matter could make for quite a ping-pong match, and to be perfectly honest about it, I would not believe it myself if our Heavenly Father had not of made Himself real to me. For I was raised to believe that all anyone ever needed was a good church where the Bible was preached without compromise[20], but then everything changed[21].
Alas, maybe I have spent too many hours alone. For no one in their right-mind[22] would ever even consider the possibility (let alone actually accept) that it was the Lord God Almighty who was singing to them when songs like Styx’s “Fooling Yourself” would come on the radio during times of great trial and tribulation. The same also applies to many other songs, but on the other hand, it is written: For with God nothing shall be impossible. [Luke 1:37 KJV]
{1}Isaiah 65:1-2; {2}John 5:37-40; {3}Job 38:1; {4}1 Kings 19:12; {5}John 14:16-17; {6}1 Samuel 3:4-10; {7}Exodus 33:17; {8}Genesis 28:10-19; {9}Acts 10:9-16; {10}1 Corinthians 3:3; {11}1 Corinthians 12:7-11; {12}1 John 4:1; {13}Romans 10:8; {14}John 1:12-13; {15}Proverbs 16:33; {16}Isaiah 55:8-9; {17}Matthew 6:25-34; {18}2 Timothy 3:16-17; {19}Acts 17:11; {20}Romans 10:17; {21}2 Corinthians 5:17; {22}1 Corinthians 2:6-16.
MP3 Audio Player From: [BlogDumps Video]
FOOLING YOURSELF (THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN)
STYX
THE GRAND ILLUSION ALBUM (1977)
You see the world through your cynical eyes
You're a troubled young man I can tell
You've got it all in the palm of your hand
But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest
And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Why must you be such an angry young man
When your future looks quite bright to me
How can there be such a sinister plan
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man
You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it
You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're killing yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it
You're a troubled young man I can tell
You've got it all in the palm of your hand
But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest
And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Why must you be such an angry young man
When your future looks quite bright to me
How can there be such a sinister plan
That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man
You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it
You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it
You're killing yourself if you don't believe it
Get up, get back on your feet
You're the one they can't beat and you know it
Come on, let's see what you've got
Just take your best shot and don't blow it
Lyrics From: [Sing365.com]
Please Also Visit: [FishHawk Droppings]
Maybe I also spend too much time alone because years ago when my father had been in a serious accident and was in intensive care a song came out by Michael Bolton. I took the lyrics of that song to be a message from God that my father was going to pull through.
ReplyDeleteBy the way I loved that Styx song.
I do need to stop and listen more! Thank you for this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by again, my dear Ann!!! Alas, there is much about what our Heavenly Father wants as many as will to know and understand that is naturally quite bittersweet. For on the one hand, we can have faith in the fact that He has our best interest at heart, but on the other, what we consider to be what is best for us is not always what He does.
ReplyDeletePhysical death serves as the ultimate example of that. For our lives in this world is meant to be nothing more than a breath that is gone in an instant from His perspective, and great should be our joy when the time comes for us to go home. However, our lives in this world is all that we really know, and as a result of this, we look upon our physical deaths as being a great tragedy.
Please do not think that I can say things like that without some sense of dread. For I will be looking upon the death of my beloved wife as being a great tragedy for me if her time comes before mine. Woe am I.
Thanks for stopping by again, my dear Gayle!!! Yes, we all do, and doesn't even require having to stop doing anything. Well, at least not after the beginning stages, and even then, it is entirely possible for our Heavenly Father to get our attention in any situation.
ReplyDeleteWhat it does require is a desire to want to truly hear Him. For He has been talking to all of us ever since we were in the womb, but this has been made very difficult to accept because of how widely it has been taught that He no longer seeks to communicate with us in the same way as He did way back when. Subsequently, when something just pops into our heads, it is assumed that it was just the result of our own intelligence, or just one of those things, instead of it being something not of ourselves.
Great caution should be taken, however. For the devil and his horde of demons are also allowed to mess with our heads at times. Therefore, nothing should be taken too much for granted, and the more one can become familiar with our Heavenly Father's Holy Scriptures, the easier it should become for them to discern between what is truly of Him and what is not. For they were provided to serve as written confirmation of what He wants to personally reveal unto us, and nothing that truly comes from Him will contradict what was placed into written from for our benefit.
Of course, what we may think was written is not always the case, and this brings us back to not taking anything too much for granted. Nonetheless, if He does for others as He has done for me, it will take more effort to reject something than to just humbly accept what He wants them to know and understand.