Hearing God's Voice by Cultivating Quietness

Waiting on the Lord impacts every aspect of our daily lives. Though we will need to structure our time to incorporate a specific time period for waiting, we will also need to shift our view of control over our lives in its entirety in order to be able to allow that time period to expand to encompass our entire life, including our time. This is learning to cultivate quietness, living in dependence on His life for all our needs; to be fulfilled by and through Him alone, so that in Him we live, and move, and have our being. Man, in his intellectual arrogance, loves to make complex what God has made simple. And knowing God is simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. He’s already done all the hard work; our job now is to get on His timetable, let Him make the changes in us, and learn to rest, trust and respond accordingly. There will be attacks from the world, our flesh and the devil to keep us from entering into His rest, but as we violently persevere we will experience that peace, contentment and energy that is our inheritance and birthright. The essential approach to knowing God is that it will involve a change in our lifestyle. We can’t devote our time and attention to God without changing how we manage and where we spend our time and attention. As we review the ways in which God seeks a relationship with us, and how we desire relationship with Him, be aware of areas the Lord may be putting His finger on. These may range from getting our time priorities straight, to getting healed, to acting on something He has already told us to do. Whatever it is, calmly let the Lord speak to you as He sets your house in order so that you can spend more time in His. What can we do to know God? Show up for class. Do your homework. Take the tests, and be willing to fail and take them again. Be willing to be promoted. Be willing to learn more.