Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for clarity in a world of noise and fear and confusion is one that God delights to answer, because He is a God who speaks and who wants to be heard. When the Lord told Isaiah to take a large scroll and write with an ordinary pen, He was making His message plain and visible and permanent, so that it could be remembered and trusted when circumstances became frightening and uncertain. That is still His way. He does not hide His will in confusion. He gives His Word clearly so you can hold fast to it when the future feels overwhelming.
Learning to hear His voice comes through staying in that Word. Scripture describes the voice of the Lord as full of majesty and power, breaking the cedars, dividing the flames of fire, shaking the wilderness. It is a voice of absolute authority over every shifting circumstance. Yet it is also a voice you can come to know intimately, the way a child learns to know its mother's voice even before birth and is comforted by it. As you receive His words and hide His commandments in your heart and incline your ear to wisdom, you become more able to distinguish His voice from all the other voices around you. The wisdom that comes from the world appeals to jealousy and strife and always ends in more confusion, but the wisdom that comes from above brings peace. God wants to give you that godly discernment.
With hearing comes the call to obey, and that is where courage is needed. Many have said with good intentions that they will obey whatever the voice of the Lord says, and yet when fear presses in they turn in their hearts toward what looks like safety, the way the people in Jeremiah's day wanted to flee to Egypt to escape the army of Babylon, thinking they would be safe there. God knew their hearts and warned them that true safety is not found by running from His voice but by diligently hearkening to it and observing to do what He commands. To fear the Lord is to hate evil and to depart from it, and that holy fear quiets the other fears that torment us. There is a sobering truth that you cannot win by going against God, but there is great blessing when you walk in His ways and keep His statutes and judgments. Your responsibility as His child is simply to hearken to His voice.
That obedience is possible because you first have peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. He made peace through His sacrifice so that you are no longer rebelling against God's law but are brought near to Him. Then, as your mind is stayed on Him and you trust Him to fight for you, you experience the peace of God, that perfect peace that guards your heart when you are tempted to fear war or trouble or what tomorrow may bring. Remember that His plans are sure and His timing is exact. He is sovereign over every circumstance, and while His voice is still speaking to you there is hope. He does not always explain why He does things the way He does, but He does call you to surrender your life to Him and to trust Him to take care of what you cannot control.
So continue to document what He shows you in Scripture, write it down and remember it, and return to it when the noise grows loud. Keep turning your heart toward Him rather than toward any Egypt that promises false security. May the Lord keep His hand upon you and give you strength and peace and love as you stay anchored in Him, listening for His voice and following it with a willing heart.
Learning to hear His voice comes through staying in that Word. Scripture describes the voice of the Lord as full of majesty and power, breaking the cedars, dividing the flames of fire, shaking the wilderness. It is a voice of absolute authority over every shifting circumstance. Yet it is also a voice you can come to know intimately, the way a child learns to know its mother's voice even before birth and is comforted by it. As you receive His words and hide His commandments in your heart and incline your ear to wisdom, you become more able to distinguish His voice from all the other voices around you. The wisdom that comes from the world appeals to jealousy and strife and always ends in more confusion, but the wisdom that comes from above brings peace. God wants to give you that godly discernment.
With hearing comes the call to obey, and that is where courage is needed. Many have said with good intentions that they will obey whatever the voice of the Lord says, and yet when fear presses in they turn in their hearts toward what looks like safety, the way the people in Jeremiah's day wanted to flee to Egypt to escape the army of Babylon, thinking they would be safe there. God knew their hearts and warned them that true safety is not found by running from His voice but by diligently hearkening to it and observing to do what He commands. To fear the Lord is to hate evil and to depart from it, and that holy fear quiets the other fears that torment us. There is a sobering truth that you cannot win by going against God, but there is great blessing when you walk in His ways and keep His statutes and judgments. Your responsibility as His child is simply to hearken to His voice.
That obedience is possible because you first have peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ. He made peace through His sacrifice so that you are no longer rebelling against God's law but are brought near to Him. Then, as your mind is stayed on Him and you trust Him to fight for you, you experience the peace of God, that perfect peace that guards your heart when you are tempted to fear war or trouble or what tomorrow may bring. Remember that His plans are sure and His timing is exact. He is sovereign over every circumstance, and while His voice is still speaking to you there is hope. He does not always explain why He does things the way He does, but He does call you to surrender your life to Him and to trust Him to take care of what you cannot control.
So continue to document what He shows you in Scripture, write it down and remember it, and return to it when the noise grows loud. Keep turning your heart toward Him rather than toward any Egypt that promises false security. May the Lord keep His hand upon you and give you strength and peace and love as you stay anchored in Him, listening for His voice and following it with a willing heart.
