John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
We have two voices speaking to us, the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the flesh. To discern the voice of God, we must first learn to decipher the voice of the Spirit from the voice of our ‘self/soul’ or the flesh. We are a tri-part being – body, soul and spirit. The physical body that gets a lot of attention and importance is only a ‘husk’. We will leave this husk/shell back on earth to decay once we drop dead. The spirit is the breadth of life that came from God and will return back to God. Then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The soul is your personality. The personality is shaped by our mind, will, emotions and intellect. The soul is the seat of feelings, desires, and affections; Soul is your character and the real you.
The thoughts goaded by our ‘feelings’ are soulish thoughts. If we hear that someone has slandered us, we will be incited by anger and animosity. There will be streams of thoughts to confront those who spread malign or even retaliate against the defamers. These ‘reactionary’ thoughts are soulish emotions, but if we stop to calm down and surrender the racing thoughts of our mind/soul, we will be able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit deep down in our spirit. The voice of the Holy Spirit will be impressions in our heart. A serene soul we will see God’s perspective and hear God’s voice saying, ‘Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil’ (Psalm 37:1).
Discerning the Voice of God:
1. Clamour: If there is a war of bitterness and brawling going on in our head, our heart will not be able to hear the voice of God. We waste a lot of time having imaginary arguments in our mind with people who have hurt us. This will cause bellowing in the soul. The clamouring in our head will drown the soft and gentle voice of the Holy Spirit. Put an end to the imaginary arguments and judgemental thoughts.
2. Calm: Only when our emotions and feelings are calmed down, we can hear the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit in our heart. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10a). Stillness is not being physically motionless but the stillness of our soul that can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
3. Closeness: The closer we get to God’s heart the clearer His voice will be. Ungodly emotions will push us far away from His voice.
Calm down the clamouring soul and get close to the heart of God and listen to His heart beat.
Hebrews 3:15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Prayer: Father God, teach me to decipher between my emotions and your voice. Help me to calm down my emotions and discern your voice. Amen
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