Ask God, expect answers
Yesterday, I was reminded of this scripture from James 1:5-8
- “If you need wisdom–if you want to know what God wants you to do–ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.”
It is so simple, yet so profound. As I re-read this scripture, it rejuvenated my faith. God desires to help us, to answer our questions, to respond to our need for wisdom. God desires to speak to us, and he doesn’t resent us for asking.
Everyday, we have a myriad of decisions we have to make. Our life is not decided on the big decisions we make every now and then. No. Our life is determine by the cumulative decisions we make every day.
Too often, we rush into a prayer, “Lord, what should I do in this situation?” We wait long and hard for 12 seconds. But, after “hearing” nothing, we run off and make our own decision. That’s not expecting God to speak. That’s not faith.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it’s impossible to please God.” God loves it when we believe, when we have faith. If we ask God for wisdom for a situation, we need to listen, and really listen. Press in, hold on, wait. He’ll respond. He promised he would. Don’t be like a wave on the sea tossed about by the storms of doubt. Believe.
What does an answer from God sound like, look like, feel like? I don’t think there is any single way that God answers. I would expect it to be different every time. I think about when my son comes to me with a question. Sometimes, I just tell him the answer. Sometimes, I tell him a story to exemplify the answer. Other times, I get up and show him the answer. There’s even times I want him to search out the answer through a different means. It’s different for different circumstances.
Don’t go to God like he’s a giant spiritual wikipedia–plug in the question, spit an answer. No, that’s not relationship. God is far more concerned about you, not just the answers you need. Sure, he wants you to come to him when you need wisdom, but come to him through relationship, not just through a need to know something.
This week, when your faced with a decision, I challenge you to go to God. Ask him. Listen. Wait. Listen some more. Press in. Listen carefully.
Expect an answer.
Hearing God’s Voice – Removing the Veil
Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice (John 10:3-4).
A veil is something that obscures, hides, covers, and separates. In the Tabernacle there was a veil which separated the rest of the structure from the Most Holy Place. God’s presence was behind the veil. On the other side of that big piece of fabric was a heavenly reality the people could not experience. When Jesus died, the veil in the Temple was torn top to bottom. Jesus has made a way for us to enter this heavenly reality and experience God’s goodness, nearness, and power first hand.
Each one of us has a veil like that. Even as believers, that heavenly reality can be obscured and hidden. Though the way is open it is possible to content ourselves with information about that heavenly reality without ever experiencing it ourselves. When we turn to the Lord, this veil is removed, taken away, lifted. The word “revelation” means exactly this – the lifting of the veil. When revelation occurs, the veil lifts. Revelation allows us to perceive what we couldn’t perceive before in ways we couldn’t imagine before.
We speak of this ongoing experience of revelation as “hearing” God’s voice. Don’t think of that word simply in terms of the transmittal of information to your ears. Rather, think of the broad spectrum of ways we see God reveal truth to his people within scripture. He speaks through scripture, his still small voice, dreams, visions, audibly and in many other ways. He talks, touches, and shows and through each of these his living Word is working to bring us into new depths of transformational experience.
What is our part in this? We turn to the Lord. The Shepherd speaks and we respond and somehow through this process of hearing and responding our capacity to hear grows. God has not just given us a book, he has poured out his Spirit. By the Spirit we are able to experience Jesus through the Bible and in all the ways modeled to us within the Bible. Bill Johnson says that “All doctrine is an invitation to experience.” What if we were to really enter a new reality where the Bible is more than a repository of doctrine, morals and principles we attempt to apply in our own strength and instead becomes an invitation to hear God and respond as his living Word transforms the reality of our lives from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit?
Seeing… The Key to Life
Walking down the road to Emmaus, we read that God restrained the eyes of the two disciples from seeing. (Luke 24) They weren’t blind, they simply could not see the truth of Who was in front of them. How does this happen?
We read in Genesis 2:9 a most amazing description of the Garden of Eden.
“And out of the ground the Lord caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
Here is what is amazing about this description. I know what trees look like. I have no idea what “life” or “knowledge” look like. Adam and Eve knew. They knew because they saw every day.
The Hebrew word here for “pleasing to the sight” holds an important meaning for us. It does not mean “pretty”. It means “a spiritual appearance”. It is the same word used in Exodus 3:3 when Moses turned to see “the sight” and beheld a bush that burned but was not consumed. It was a visual register of a spiritual reality. Adam and Eve “saw” this way as a regular part of daily life in the Garden. When they left the garden, in many ways the garden also left them.
Jesus said He came to seek and save “that which was lost” (Luke 19). What if what was lost was more than just Zaccheus? What if one of the things lost, was a way of seeing? Paul tells us that what we lost in Adam, Jesus returned to us…this makes me very curious about what else we lost.
Think Differently.
Be fiercely at peace
Their rifles leaned agains the tables and chairs in the middle of the restaurant, the four young ladies seemed unaware of our fascination. The eight of us had never been to Israel before, and had not yet gotten used to the ongoing, open display of weaponry. We were beginning to aim our cameras when our tour guide stopped us. Were we being culturally inappropriate? Giving away wartime secrets? Exposing these soldiers to dangerous exposure? “No”, he said, “It’s just that they are not soldiers, they are secretaries.”
We discovered that regardless of their role, everyone in the army is required to carry their weapon at all times. A few visits later this rule came into focus when my friend picked me up from my hotel. It seems that on his route to the office a terrorist had jumped on a piece of construction machinery and driven it into traffic, trying to do as much damage as possible. A nearby off-duty officer leveled his weapon and saved an unknown number of lives because he was armed and prepared for an attack.
The citizens of Israel live in a constant state of readiness. The nation is surrounded by hostile enemies. These enemies often attack internally using stealth and surprise rather than frontal assaults. Notice I said, “readiness” and not “fear”. Readiness simply means alert, armed and prepared. It is amazing how being convinced that the enemy is real and among them keeps them prepared for engagement.
They do not dwell on the battle, nor does the battle define them. They live ready. In many ways, they are more fully alive because they are aware that an enemy lives among them . It is a fact of life, for which the entire nation and every individual has prepared. The enemy among them does not prevent them from living in freedom. They refuse to surrender the daily lives they live and the callings they fulfill.
For us to step fully into the life we live on earth, we must remain alert and ready. The battle is all around us. It should not define us, but we must remain alert.
You carry in you something that the enemy of your soul fears and hates. You carry the image of God Himself. In the deep places of your heart, a flame burns with love, and unshakeable joy. Unchanging peace, and unwavering compassion, these are all your birthright as a born-again child of God. Theses attributes in your heart burn to be expressed in your life. From the inside out, God intends for His nature to flow through you to the world around you. The world around you will try to push it back. Be prepared to defend it. Remain loving, be fiercely at peace. Love so much that the room you step into is changed by it. Engage the world with the kind of compassion that heals shrunken hearts. And be prepared to be attacked.
The devil wants to take the territory of your heart before it overflows into the geography you occupy. Keep your weapons nearby, be sure your training is current. Though the war does not define us, failure to engage could prevent us from living our defined purpose.
Remember we are at war and live in earth-shaking peace.
Hearing God in the moment
Jesus told his disciples, “But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:11).
In this scripture, Jesus was telling his disciples that a time was coming when they would stand before kings, judges, people who would torture them, throw them into jail and question them. But, Jesus encouraged them that when they stood before these people and were questioned, the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say when it was time.
I’ve had something similar happen to me. No, I wasn’t standing before a judge or my life was on the line, but I was in a situation where I need some help, some guidance. And, I didn’t have time to go off into some quiet time, or to fast and prayer. I needed some guidance in the moment. So, I’d ask the Father in the intensity of the moment, and he responded. I think he loves doing that.
Just yesterday, I was sitting in a meeting with a client. We were pitching some ideas for a new project, and after our 30-minute pitch, I could tell that it wasn’t working. So, at that point, I said to those in the room, “Let’s think through what would work.” And, I started brainstorming with them. They had some ideas, we had some ideas, but still nothing was sticking.
In a slight pause of a moment, I prayed in my spirit, “Father, could you help us out here. I need some creative direction.” That was it. That was my prayer. And, I promptly jumped back into brainstorming, but something different happened. I had a new direction for the creative. They liked it. We chiseled away and after a few more minutes, we had our creative direction.
Rather than walking away frustrated from an unproductive meeting, we walked with a new creative direction and clear focus. It was very encouraging. It was also thanks to God.
I’m learning more and more that God is always ready to help you, to guide you, to lead you along the best path for whatever situation you face.
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you” (Psalms 32:8).
I love this promise from Psalms. It was written when the only way to God was through a high priest and only once a year. Yet today, with Jesus as our high priest, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). We can come into God’s presence all the time, any time we want. What an awesome privilege and honor!
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