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. 

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Ignoring God - Martin Wiles

I warned you when you were prosperous, but you replied, “Don’t bother me.” You have been that way since childhood—you simply will not obey me! Jeremiah 22:21 NLT

Our challenge seemed simple but proved more difficult than we imagined. 

The final day of school is always a half day. Following our breakfast feast, it’s off to the gym where eligible students receive various awards. What follows is two hours of dead time. This particular year we teachers decided to show a movie. Since we are a Christian school, we cannot show anything but G-rated movies unless we have parental approval. 

Our lead teacher picked Star Wars, thinking that none of the students would have seen the original and that it would interest them. She was correct on the first count but miserably wrong on the second. What we teachers hoped would be a relaxing time turned into a scene more challenging than the classroom.

Jeremiah, known as the “weeping prophet,” was also given a daunting challenge: deliver a message to God’s people warning them of coming destruction by a foreign force—destruction they had brought on themselves by ignoring God. 

Our students ignored the movie because they had no interest in it. Since it was space related and showed examples of techy stuff, we assumed they’d love it. The trouble was, our world has advanced so far since the movie was produced that they could tell the production was dated. 

Without God’s intervention, I’ll respond to God the same way the students did to the movie. While I’m born with spiritual interest, I’ll ignore God because of my sinful nature unless I listen to the Spirit of God pulling me in the right direction.

As a believer, I’ve ignored God a number of times because I had my mind on other things. Had we shown the movie earlier in the year, the students may have watched. This was the last day of school, and they were moments away from the final bell and summer vacation. Unless I allow God to keep my mind on spiritual things—His business, I’ll ignore Him.

A few students were interested in the movie initially but were eventually distracted by classmates who weren’t. I, too, have been led away from God by others. Going was my choice, but letting them influence me was my choice as well. 

Don’t let things or people lead you to ignore God. Doing so always has devastating effects. 

Prayer: Father, may we always give You our full attention so we can accomplish Your perfect plan for us. 

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