20 August
“God’s will won’t take you where His grace can’t keep you.” Anonymous
Recognizing the Voice of God
Matthew 16:13-23
The world is filled with countless voices, all vying for our attention. Television personalities tell us to buy this or that, and government officials tell us what to believe. We pore over magazines and newspapers, surf Web pages for hours, and strap radio headsets to our ears. How, in the midst of this chaos, can we hope to recognize the voice of God?
One way to make sure you have heard a word from the Lord is to confirm that message with Scripture. God will never speak in contradiction to His holy, perfect Word. If you believe God has spoken and yet what you have heard goes against the Bible, you must dismiss the contrary message.
Rather than relying upon Scripture to verify God’s messages to us today, many people use their own desires and morality as the litmus test. This is a tragic mistake, because our fleshly desires are simply not trustworthy. Our personal sense of right and wrong may ebb and flow, but the Word of God is forever unchanging and therefore continually reliable.
Another mistake in interpreting God’s voice is to assume that His message to us will “fit right in” to our normal lives. The truth is, His call is often life-changing—therefore, we should not assume that He may only want to “tweak” details of your life; He may want to change it completely.
God has a special word for each of us, and we must strive to hear Him clearly so we may act upon that message with boldness, confidence, and conviction.
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