The topic of hearing God and following the Holy Spirit has been surfacing around me. It has made me question how many people have yet to experience the voice of God, especially those who are in the church now, as well as those yet to set their hope in Jesus. I have been praying about what do to with this knowledge to bring about the awareness and beautiful intimacy that hearing God has on us and God lead me to some wonderful ladies I met through the Allume Conference, who are brave and bold and willing to share their story of how they have come to hear the voice of God through this series. It is not a list of "how tos" or of verses on hearing God or things of the sort. Just an honest, open discussion of the telling of their story. Of their journey to the place where God's voice is the one they listen to. You can find the entire series here.
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Hearing the God who
Remembers
This past spring and summer I read two books that made me long
for a closer connection with God. I wanted so badly to be
more in tune with the Holy Spirit. I wanted to know Him, like really know Him. After reading those books, I
began praying that I would hear Him more often and more clearly. I prayed that
I would be open to and aware of the Holy Spirit so that God could work through
me.
One of the biggest ways God speaks to me is through His
scriptures. What I have found, especially this past year, is how when I
lean into God and ask Him to speak to me, He does. There have been so many
times that I have been struggling in a certain area or with a certain decision,
and when I open my Bible the verses speak to that situation exactly.
One of those times was in June of this past year. I was feeling
incredibly discouraged by the darkness that seemed to be taking over the world.
Just watch the news for a couple days and it's easy to feel this way. It was
making me feel sad, sick, and overwhelmed. One day I was feeling especially
discouraged and happened to be reading Leviticus 18 as I was working through
the Old Testament.
"Do not defile
yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am
going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I
punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ... And if
you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that
were before you." -- Leviticus 18: 24-25, 28
After reading this, I was reminded of all the natural disasters
that had happened recently, especially earthquakes. I felt fearful of what
could happen -- of the land vomiting us out and how possible and even probable
it is. I began praying after reading that scripture. I told God how sorry I was
for all the things us humans are doing, accepting, and even celebrating in this
place He created for us.
I asked God that if the land vomits its inhabitants that He
would remember those of us who are trying to obey
Him, trying to stand up for what's right, trying to have eyes focused on Him
and clean, pure hearts. I asked that He remember us -- no matter how few -- and protect
us.
A few days later, it was time for me to read Leviticus 26. I
love verses 3-6, 9, and 11. But what really stood out to me was verses 40-42.
"But if they will
confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors -- their unfaithfulness and
their hostility toward me, which made hostile toward them so that I sent them
into the land of their enemies -- then when their uncircumcised hearts are
humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant
with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land." -- Leviticus 26:40-42
"They will pay for their
sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. Yet
in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I
will not reject them or
abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I
am the Lord their God. But for their sake, I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom
I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the
Lord." -- Leviticus 26:43-45
I was amazed that I had asked God to remember me and those of us trying to please
Him, and here just a few chapters later He told me He will remember.
God reassured me. He told me He heard my prayer and He would remember.
I couldn't help but wonder if He knew back when He first said
that in the Bible -- thousands of years before I even existed -- that He was
saying it to me too. I think He did know that. Because He's big -- so big we
could never even wrap our tiny minds around it all.
I began reading Leviticus thinking I would gain nothing, yet
asking God to teach me. It just shows that when we really ask God to reveal
Himself, ask His Holy Spirit to fill us -- well, that's one powerful prayer --
one He loves to answer!
I can't say I've ever heard an audible voice and known it was
God. There's no booming, deep voice that speaks to me. That might be the case
for some people, and that would make following God's guidance much easier. But
I think God likes it when I take the time to truly listen, when I take the time
to search for Him and dig deeper to see what He could be saying. I encourage
you to ask Him to reveal Himself and see how He answers, because I guarantee He
will.
Tiffany Stroud blogs at Seeing
Sunshine about
faith, family, military life, and homemaking. She is an Army wife, originally
from Indiana, who just recently moved to Missouri. She works as a blogger,
freelance writer, and virtual assistant. Tiffany loves Jesus, ice cream, and
traveling, especially to places with a beach. Follow her on Facebook or Pinterest.
Thanks for letting me share my story Tiffany!
ReplyDeletethank you so much for sharing!
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