God's Voice

A couple weekends ago, my church had an "olympic" event. The small groups competed against each other in many events. I arrived with my napping girls after things were under way. I really only paid attention to one adult event, and it was the obstacle course. Two teammates were tied together as if in a three-legged race, as well as blindfolded. One teammate shouted directions to them- go left, crawl through the tube, stuff like that. Along the way, they were bombarded with kids with water guns, and a "big kid" with a hose. :)

As I sat at the picnic table (well away from the spraying water), I watched about eight people shouting directions. They were trying hard to get their voices above the crowd. (At church the next day, several men were hoarse!) I wondered what would happen if we did that race as families. The parents shouted directions to the their kids. Would the kids trust and obey? Would they be able to pick their parents' voices out of the crowd?

That's exactly what we're going for with our kids. We want our kids to be able to hear our voices above all the other inputs in their lives. It doesn't take much for other influences to start pulling their attention. Whether it's a friend from church or commercials on tv, we want our voices to be the ones they hear over and above everything else. We want our voices to be the ones that they listen for and know. We want our voices to be the ones they respect, understand, and obey. And I don't want to be hoarse the next day!

This morning I heard a song on the radio. It's called "To Know You" by Casting Crowns. One line in particular speaks on this very thought "To know You is to hear Your voice when You are calling." I can know when I am close to God by how well I can hear His voice. Just like with my kids. When we're at the park, do they come running when I call, or do they ignore me for a few more seconds on the swing? And what's my swing- what am I holding onto and ignoring God for? I need to spend time with my Lord and learn to know His voice. As He's trying to take care of me, it's important that I can hear His voice above all the other voices competing for my attention. If He calls directions to me, I want to hear them. I want to avoid the mud pit and the spraying water. I want to follow His voice and win the race. And I don't think I want to know what it feels like to have the Lord shouting at me!

Last week we had a huge crack of thunder and my two year old was out of bed and started crying. My husband went up to console her but also told her that was God saying "get back in bed!" Is that what it would be like to have the Lord shout at me? I'd much rather be so attuned to His voice that I can hear Him whisper. That I can see Him smiling at me in the softness of a rainbow, that I can hear Him in the gentle breeze through the trees, that I can see His hand as my husband holds mine, that I can hear Him in my children's laughter.

I think that knowing God and hearing His voice is about so much more than the "big things." God is in the little things that are the dailyness of our life. And the more that we get to know Him, the more we WANT to know Him. It actually reminds me of another song that struck me today. One line says "It's more like falling in love than something to believe in." (But that's a story for another day.) Knowing God is and adventure. It's about understanding the eternal from the temporary, it's about sharing His love with the world, it's about trusting God, it's about hearing His voice.

Check out Casting Crown's website for the lyrics to this song, as well as the Scripture that inspired every line of the song. I couldn't find an official version of the song, but I did find this one on You Tube that will allow you to hear it for yourself. I encourage you to grab a Bible and search out the verses for more about what God says about this subject.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 / 2 Corinthians 4:18 / 2 Corinthians 5:11-12 / Ephesians 4:20-24 / Philippians 3 / Philippians 4:12-13