Discerning God’s Voice - Martin Wiles

O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised. Psalm 119:169 NLT

One text message can change the course of a life. So can discerning God's voice. 

She really didn’t want to go to church that Sunday night. After all, they were just showing the movie, God’s Not Dead. But her husband wanted to go, so she obliged. Near the end of the movie, concert-goers were encouraged to text "God's Not Dead" to every contact in their phone. Although she wasn’t at the concert, she felt the urge to text her son, who struggled with an addiction. Little did she know he was about to take another hit. Receiving the text from his mom at that critical moment changed his mind. She discerned God’s voice.

I once discerned God’s voice as well. My wife and I were eating at a local restaurant. Four highway patrolmen sat at the table next to ours, one of whom I was acquainted with. God’s Spirit urged me to perform a particular act of kindness for them. It was Memorial Day, as well as the day we were honoring medical responders, firefighters, and law enforcement personnel. Reason prompted me to consider the cost; God wanted me to act on His prompting. So I listened. 

God promises believers we can discern his mind, and the psalmist wanted to do just that. Unfortunately, I’ve missed many opportunities because I either didn’t discern his voice or lacked faith—faith that God would replace the money the act of kindness cost.

God gives us the ability to know the mind of Christ, but it doesn’t happen automatically. Just as keeping in touch with family and friends helps us understand them and their likes and wants, so the same happens in our relationship with Christ. Through prayer, Bible study, and meditation, we learn who he is, what he desires for us, and how to please him. His Spirit may indwell us, but unless we stay in constant contact with him, his Spirit’s promptings will grow fainter and fainter.

Stay close to God so you won’t miss opportunities he sends. And when he sends them, take a leap of faith and act upon what he tells you to do.

Father, give me the wisdom to recognize your voice and the faith to obey it. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Sweating-Blood Scared - Martin Wiles

He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Luke 22:44 NLT

He had proudly denied the existence of God and spewed nothing but hate for him. But that was before he lay on his deathbed, sweating-blood scared.

The movie, God’s Not Dead, details the story of a battle between a college freshman and an atheist philosophy professor who challenges the young student to prove God’s existence—a battle the student wins when he asks the professor how he can hate someone who doesn’t exist.

Having a change of mind, the professor hurries to a Newsboys concert, only to be hit by a car while crossing the road. Fortunately, a local pastor is nearby and rushes to his side. Fear washes over the professor’s face as he realizes that perhaps God is alive after all. Willing to take the risk, he professes his belief in Jesus Christ just before he takes his last breath.

Fear also washed over Jesus before his death as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane—so much so that his sweat became like blood (Luke 22:44). Although God in the flesh, he was also very much human. He knew the agony involved in crucifixion, but realized his would be even more painful. He would take the sin of the world upon himself.

God has created within us a fight-or-flight mechanism that serves us well. When we find ourselves unwillingly in danger, God gives us healthy fear, which leads us to run away. This mechanism can also provide adrenaline power that we don’t typically have when we need to fight.

Satan, on the other hand, is the master of burdening us with unhealthy fear. This spirit debilitates and keeps us from fulfilling God’s plan for our lives. We’ll make excuses instead of forging ahead. This fear can also prevent us from forming healthy relationships, causing us to dwell on those that weren’t. With this fear, Satan can steal, kill, and destroy God’s intentions for us.

Overcoming the fear of sweating blood is as simple as acknowledging it, reminding ourselves that it isn’t coming from God, and asking God to replace it with a sound mind that trusts him to lead us into his bright future.

Give your fears to God, and let him replace them with a sound mind. Don't be sweating-blood scared. 

Father, I place my fears in your hands and ask for peace of mind, soul, and spirit. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.