Listen Carefully -- Understand Clearly -- Obey Completely

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." (Gen 22:1 NKJ)

The story of Abraham's test has always intrigued me. It is my firm belief that I would have argued with God about his instructions to take my beloved son -- my only son -- and sacrifice him to God. I think I would have questioned whether I had actually heard the Lord's voice.

In the Scriptures, I discover that others have also had a difficulty hearing God and/or argued with him about his instructions to them. There was Moses before the burning bush (Exodus 3:11). There was the Samuel, sleeping in the Temple (1 Samuel 3:3-10). There was Elijah in the cave on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:9-14). There were Paul and Silas, planning a mission trip (Acts 16:6-7).

I am not as concerned about arguing with God as I am about clearly hearing his voice. I don't think God is bothered by my arguments and questions. And I think hearing him, knowing that I have heard him, is far more relevant and important to me as a believer and servant of the Lord.

Of course, there are many "voices" in Christian circles today. And many people want to claim "God told" them this or that. The challenge is to determine whether or not their "message" is truly from God. Jesus warned us, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, `I am the Christ,' and will deceive many" (Matthew 24:4-5 NKJ).

Abraham didn't have this problem. Over his forty years of walking with God, Abraham had heard his voice so clearly, so many times that he knew God had spoken to him. I want my relationship with God to be such that I can recognize his voice, clearly and without doubt, when he speaks to me.

I am convinced that recognizing God's voice in the midst of this world's noise will be sufficient to calm all my fears and arrest all my questions. As I listen to God, I will close my filters and pay attention to what he is saying, not what I want to hear.

Dear Father, thank you for talking to me. Enable me to clearly recognize your voice when you speak to me. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN

Listen carefully -- understand clearly -- obey completely,