2 weeks ago I was sitting in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, while school had started in Australia and despite being on an epic adventure of my own, I kinda felt like I was missing out.
In that moment I decided to sit down and prepare myself for the months ahead. I started the journal I had bought for my DTS and began to pray into the 6 month journey I was about to begin with YWAM. To my surprise, despite my uncertainty about what was ahead, I was bold enough to tell God to “let loose” in the months ahead. I even put it in writing.
Since my arrival God has continued to reveal himself anew to me each day. This week in particular though has left me feeling the need to buckle up for the journey ahead, because if the next 6 months are anything like the past week, I’m in for the ride of my life.
This week at YWAM Brisbane we had the honour and privilege of having Dean Sherman talk to us on “Hearing the voice of God”. This series however would be better titled: “Recognizing God’s Communication” because, as we discovered this week, God is a communicator who does not communicate or rely solely on an audible voice, but speaks through Dreams, Visions, Scriptures, People, Circumstances and any other way that he can find for creation to shout his divine love and affection towards us.
This week however has become so much more than sitting in lectures and learning about God’s voice. It has been a week of listening for ourselves and recognizing when we’ve heard from him, because God can talk to anyone. Anyone. This is a point that I can not emphasize enough, because I personally have seen so many Christians get wrapped up in this lie that God only talks to certain people. But the reality is that God is just as likely to talk to you as he is to anyone else, be it your pastor, the Pope or Billy Graham.
One thing Dean continued to repeat this week is that God is a walking and talking God. He desires to have a relationship with us, and communication is the foundation of any relationship. For us as Christians we have to recognize that communication as the foundation of our faith, otherwise we have nothing to base our faith upon. This communication could take many forms, but if you as a christian think for one second that God no longer talks or talks to you, you’re wrong. Salvation itself requires communication with God, for our faith is based on hearing and not a blind leap. And if our job as christians is to emulate Christ in everything that we do, then we are not to do anything unless we have heard from God, just as Christ did(John 5:19-24, 12:49-50). So you either don’t know God at all, or you know him as a communicator.
So why does it feel like God speaks to some more than others?
This is a major stumbling block for many christians and has even been one for myself at times in my life.
But as God has revealed to us this week, it’s not that simple. Of course with God it never is.
As I mentioned earlier God communicated in different ways, and I believe that in learning about God’s communication one of the first steps is recognizing those ways. God speaks through Dreams, Visions, Scriptures, People, Circumstances, Thoughts. It can be as simple as silent whisper or a loud bright light. The list could go on for every really, but the important point is to recognize that it is not always an audible voice, and God communicates in unique ways for ever unique individual. It is also important to recognize that through all of these ways God will never contradict his character as laid out in the bible.
The biggest hurdle, at least for me, is learning how to yield. Dean Sherman went as far as to say that it is the most important thing you can ever learn as a christian, and after this week I would have to agree. It is a slightly new concept for me, however I have realized that I have been doing it in many places in my life already.
“The most important thing you’ll ever learn in your christian walk is learning how to yield to God” -Dean Sherman
Yielding is the act of allowing the Holy Spirit to come and work within and through you. You may recognize it as standing for worship, holding your hands out, kneeling at the mercy seat, bowing down, tithing etc. It is any moment that you make the decision to allow God to flow through you. Learning to actively and regularly do this is fundamental for every Christian to learn as God often speaks directly in proportion to our yielding.
As I have learned this and actively put this into practice God has blown me away with the level of intimate relationship he longs to have with us. He continues to speak into and over my life on a daily basis, addressing insecurities and stumbling blocks within my own heart, while embracing me with the beauty of his presence and overwhelming fulfillment. Believe it or not we laugh and we bicker (well, that’s me) and we cry together all through the midst of it.
You may find yourself saying “it seems yielding can’t be the whole answer to hearing God”, and that part is very true. Sometimes God is waiting to reveal something in his own time, and sometimes he stops talking so that we will take time to press into him and build a relationship. As Dean said “God is not a coke machine, and he refuses to be treated like one”. He’s not just a question and answer service, he longs for a relationship with us and will wait for us to press into it.
And ultimately there could be other reasons that God is not talking at a time, but as long as we continue to yield and seek him, we can be sure that when the time comes and he is ready to speak, we’re ready to listen.
One thing that is sure about God’s Character is that he will never be the one to withdraw for our relationship. We can withdraw, just as Adam and Eve did in the Garden (Genesis 3:8 ), but God will always take the initiative to relate with us before we can even think of it.
So don’t ever feel like you’re alone or God won’t speak. Since the beginning of Man God has dwelt with us and continues to stand beside us each day of our life. It’s simply a matter of learning to yield and recognize his voice when he does speak. As Dean Sherman said, “Hearing God is not a gift, it’s a skill”.
So buckle up, because when you choose to listen continually, you’re in for a wild (amazing) ride!
Bring it on.
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