Day 11: Turn Up the Volume
Reading For Today:
1 Samuel 3:7-10 (NIV)
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So, Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Is it possible that what we perceive to be relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually hearing problems — ears that have gradually lowered and possibly deafened the voice of God? And it’s that inability to hear His voice that causes us to lose our voice and lose our way. Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems! It’s also the key to living in freedom and walking in our destiny.
If your life is off-key, maybe it’s because you’ve been deafened by the negative self-talk that doesn’t let God get a Word in edgewise! Maybe you’ve listened to the voice of criticism so long you can’t believe anything else about yourself. Or maybe it’s the Enemy’s voice of condemnation that speaks lies about who you really are. If you don’t silence those competing voices, they’ll eventually drown out the voice that matters the most.
Is God’s voice the loudest voice in your life? That’s the question. If the answer is no, that’s the problem. We live in a culture where everyone wants to have his or her voice heard but has so little to say. And that’s because we do so little listening, especially to God… but when we listen to God it gives us something to say that is worth listening to. Ultimately, all of us need to find our voice – the unique message God wants to speak through our lives, but finding our voice starts with hearing His voice.
Let me issue a warning, though – if you aren’t willing to listen to everything God has to say, you eventually won’t hear anything He has to say.
If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. And it’s often what we want to hear least that we need to hear most. Trust me, though, you want to hear what He has to say.
Are you ready?