Every morning when I wake up, I turn on a radio in my kitchen that is tuned to Bott Radio. I leave it on throughout the day so that I can hear the teaching, preaching, and other programs they air anytime I am in my kitchen. It doesn’t pick up as well in the early morning hours and I was struggling to hear the preacher that was preaching one morning recently. I paused for a moment and thought to myself, “All I need to do is focus in on his voice and ignore the static.”
A few seconds later, I had done just that and was able to hear what he was saying while fixing my coffee. It occurred to me as I stood there listening to him that I need to do the exact same thing in life. I need to focus in on my heavenly Father’s voice and ignore all the “static” that tries to distract me. I need to pause as often as necessary to focus on His voice to make sure that I am tuning in to it and not allowing anything to distract me.
It’s hard to hear that “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) when we are surrounded by so many noisy distractions. The “static” of this world can get quite loud, my friend. We have to be intentional about quieting our hearts and minds so that we can focus in on His voice. Just like I took the time to focus on the pastor’s voice and was able to hear it in the midst of the static, we can do the same thing to make certain we are hearing His voice clearly.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” John 10:27. This is our goal, friends. We want to hear His voice so that we can follow Him. In order to follow the Shepherd, we have to be able to distinguish His voice from all the distractions we face. It isn’t easy; it requires effort. You have to learn to intentionally train yourself to listen for and recognize His voice. This can only happen when you spend time with Him on a regular basis.
In order to focus on His voice, you have to learn to recognize it. How can you do this? It’s actually quite simple, dear heart. You have to get in His Word because it is how we get to know Him and how we learn what His voice sounds like. (This is also important because God’s voice will never contradict His Word.) Spend adequate time in His Word on a regular basis and you will get to know what His voice sounds like, my friend.
Another important habit to form is to spend time in prayer. Spending time in His presence will help you to know Him and recognize His voice. It is hard to become familiar with the voice of someone you do not spend time with. The best way to get familiar with someone’s voice is by spending lots of time with them. Beloved, there is a LOT of “static” trying to drown out His voice these days. We have got to be diligent about taking time to focus on His voice.
We have to make pausing to focus on His voice a constant habit. If we are going to follow the voice of our Shepherd and let Him guide us, we have to make certain it is His voice and His voice alone we are listening to. “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it’, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” Isaiah 30:21. We need His guidance, my friends, and it is imperative that we learn to focus on His voice.
I don’t know what “static” may be trying to drown out His voice in your life today, but I urge you to do all you can to focus on His voice. Take some time to pause and listen to His voice. Keep your mind fixed on Him and do all you can to focus on His voice while ignoring the “static” around you. Ask Him to help you become more sensitive to His voice and make pausing to focus on Him a regular habit. (Confession: this is something I need to do more of myself.)
Let’s make this a new goal, my friends. I pray that we each will determine to be more intentional to pause and focus on hearing His voice. How we need His wisdom, guidance, and help! The beautiful thing is that He is more than willing to help us. He is willing to help us learn to know His voice and tune out the things that would distract us. His help is available; all we have to do is ask. I hope that this will be something we both will be doing a lot more of, dear heart.
Katrina Douglas
2/13/2024
