The Voice of God

Day twenty-one of a month for prayer and fasting and calling out to God

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

2 Chronicles 16:7-9

How does God speak to you? During this month where we’ve been focusing on prayer and fasting and listening to God, this seems an important question.

One criticism, or perhaps clarification might be better, of this episode of John & Lisa Bevere’s podcast is where John insists that he wants peace when God is speaking to him. Yes, peace from God is a sign when God is telling us to do something. However, I feel this is only a partial answer. Did Jonah have peace when God called him to go to Nineveh and preach that the city would be destroyed? It seems likely to me that Jonah did not have peace - not because God wasn’t providing peace, but because Jonah’s heart was rebelling against God’s will. And I can think of examples in my own life where there has been no peace because I’ve resisted God’s will. And it might not even be that God had said: Mark - go and do this, it was because I was doing something that I knew was wrong and I did not want to deal with it. And you could easily say: well, this proves John’s point! I had no peace, perhaps Jonah had no peace - because we were disobeying God. Yet, I want to draw out that in order for us to reach a place of peace, we may have to deal with our own heart. And that may require us to recognise in some cases that we are anxious and afraid because we do not trust in God, because we have not submitted to his will. And I certainly have struggled to accept God’s will in this situation with our daughter. Not that I know what God’s will is, yet frequently I have sought to impose my own will on the situation. May God forgive me.

There is a lot in this podcast episode and I believe it is helpful in many ways. I’m aware that God seems to sometimes speak to me through my writing. More, much more when I give my writing up to him and ask him to lead and guide me. If God speaks to any of you through my writing, then praise God! I find myself struggling and wrestling with God in my writing. Trying to understand, trying to find clarity. And I have an internal voice as I write this which is criticising me - telling me that this is a weakness. Surely God would speak clearly. And God does speak clearly, yet perhaps I am still resisting hearing what God is so clearly saying: to trust him. To be obedient to him. To seek him. To worship him.

It may be tempting for us to think that if God spoke in an audible voice, or sent a prophet, that then we would know! Then we would hear God and all would be good. Yet look at how Asa king of Judah responded to the seer:

Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people. (v10)

If God speaks to us, whether about ourselves, or our child, or any situation in our life - what if we don’t like what God says! And I find this to be so convicting. Here I am asking God to speak, but is my heart fully committed to him? Will I accept the will of God when it not only does not align with my will, but also when it directly contradicts my will?

And look how Asa ended his life, after such a glorious reign where he did so much good:

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died… (v12-13)

Was this disease a punishment for Asa’s rejection of God’s word? For his treatment of the prophet? For his brutal oppression of God’s people? We are not clearly told. And perhaps all we should take is this - when he was ill with a severe disease, Asa did not seek help from the Lord. Let us not be as Asa was in his last days. Even if we have rejected God’s word to us previously, we can still repent of this today. If we have struggled to submit to God in the past, this very day we can humble ourselves and seek God again.

Father in heaven, thank you that you continue to speak to us, and praise you that you look for repentance and a change of heart! Let us not harden our hearts to you. Even if, and especially if what you have to say to us is what we don’t want to hear. Help us, Father! Help us to trust you when the path in front of us is difficult. When you have a plan that includes our suffering. May we always remember that Jesus suffered for us, and his teaching included many warnings that those who follow him will also suffer. Where we have sinned, help us to confess this and repent. May we praise you in the bad times as well as the good, and we ask that as we sacrifice by praising you in our times of trouble, that you will encourage us, and lift us, and comfort us. Amen

Read yesterday’s post: https://goal31.substack.com/p/an-unexpected-answer

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