This series is meant to give people practical advice and relevant examples to help them find God's will for their lives and then do it.
- Part One: Facing the Fear of Knowing God's Will. Using the story of Gideon, from the book of Judges, Remy looks at four fears that we have regarding our inability to either hear God's voice or do his will. Then he follows this with four helpful observations from the Gideon story.
- Part Two: Finding God's Will Without a Fleece. This message contrasts divination with making decision with wisdom and understanding. It gives you a thorough overview of how you can trust that the idea you have is actually from God.
Learning to Hear God’s Voice
Parts 1 & 2
by Remy Diederich
copyright 2006, all rights reserved
If there is one thing that seems to strike fear in the heart of every serious follower of Jesus, it’s the fear of missing God’s will for their life, or more specifically, not being able to hear God’s voice.
To help us learn how to hear God’s voice, we’re going to look at the story of Gideon in the Old Testament. I like this story because it directly addresses four fears that we have about finding God’s will. I’m going to talk about those fears and then make four observations as well.
The first fear is this…
Fear #1: God doesn’t want to speak to me.
This is the most basic insecurity that we have about our relationship with God. We don’t think God wants to speak to us because, either we have a low view of God – we don’t think he cares about us. Or, we have a low view of ourselves- we don’t think we are good enough for God to waste his time on us.
Let’s look at Gideon’s story. The story starts by telling about a difficult situation the Israelites got themselves into.
Again the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites fled to the mountains, where they made hiding places for themselves in caves and dens.Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their cattle and tents as thick as locusts, arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Judges 6:1-6
The writer of this story describes the Israelites situation as extreme. The Midianites were so cruel they had to live in caves. They destroyed their crops. They had nothing to eat. The camels were too numerous to count. The land was stripped bare. The Israelites were reduced to starvation. In other words…the writer is telling us that things couldn’t possibly get any worse.
My guess is that the Israelites doubted that God would answer their prayer. They assumed that they had sinned too much that they didn’t deserve God speaking to them. But God did speak. It says…
When they cried out to the LORD because of Midian, the LORD sent a prophet to the Israelites… [saying] 'I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me! Judges 6:7-10
You see, the problem wasn’t with God not wanting to speak to them. The problem was with the Israelites not listening to God. God always wants to speak to you if you will only listen.
So write that down and remember it the next time you wonder if God will speak to you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. It doesn’t matter how bad you’ve been. God wants to speak to you. The Bible says…
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners [not perfect people] in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. Psalm 25:8,9
Fear #2: I won’t be able to hear from God, even if he does speak.
The thought here is that God is speaking to you but it’s almost like he’s going out of his way to make it difficult. It’s like he is speaking in code. And the only way you can break the code is if you are super spiritual.
But I don’t see that here in the story. In fact, it’s just the opposite. God goes out of his way to make sure that Gideon hears him. First, he sends a prophet and then an angel shows up to talk to him face to fac. The Bible says…
Then the angel of the LORD came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah… Judges 6:11
God sends an angel to have an extended, one-on-one conversation with Gideon. And if you look closely, this is more than an angel. This is God himself (and whenever we see God showing up in the flesh we are actually seeing Jesus). You see, you have to remember that God is personal. He’s not an unfeeling machine that spits out cold instructions. God is a person. He’s relational. And he wants to be in relationship with you.
That means that he wants to communicate with you and he’ll do whatever he needs to do to help you to hear his voice. He’s not interested in playing games. This isn’t 20 Questions or Pictionary or Hide and Go-Seek. God’s intention, as a loving father, is to speak to his children in order to reveal his will just like any loving parent would do.
Fear #3: I’ll never be able to do what God says.
This is where you know God has spoken. You’ve heard his voice, but you are convinced that you are incapable of doing God’s will. I think a lot of people never even bother to hear God’s voice because they’ve already decided in advance that God’s will for their life is too hard. I know that’s how Gideon felt. Listen to what it says…
Gideon son of Joash had been threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!"
Let me back up here and paint the picture for you. The Midianites have been terrorizing the Israelites, right? In fact, it sounds like it was their sport. Instead of hunting animals on the weekend, they hunt Israelites and the Israelites were running scared.
Gideon is hiding out in a winepress just to keep from being discovered. When the angel says that God is with him, Gideon’s immediate response is this (read it with a cynical attitude)…
"Sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, 'The LORD brought us up out of Egypt'? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites."
Gideon is totally defeated. He’s so defeated that even in the presence of God, himself, he’s whining about being abandoned. Then God reveals his will to Gideon.
Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!" Judges 6:14
But what does Gideon do? Does he say, “Great. I finally know God’s will for my life. Now I can be fulfilled.” No. Listen (read as a whine)…
"But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!" Judges 6:15
In other words, he’s saying…
I’m from the smallest, least prestigious tribe in Israel and I’m the youngest person in my family. I can’t do your will. It will never happen.
But God isn’t fazed by his negative protest. He says…
"I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man." Judges 6:16
Gideon was like a lot of us. He automatically assumed that whatever God called him to do, he couldn’t do because it was too hard. But you need to see two things. First, you need to see your life through the eyes of God. When God looks at you, he doesn’t see all your deficiencies, like you do. He doesn’t see your weaknesses or what you can’t do. God always sees you in the light of his power, not your weakness.
I think one of the reasons we miss God’s will for our lives is that we are so often negative and self-defeating. We don’t hear God speak to us because we can’t imagine God doing anything good or exciting or challenging in our lives. So, even though God is speaking to us, we don’t hear it, because it doesn’t register with us. What God is saying isn’t even in our realm of reality.
When Gideon looked in the mirror he saw a scared rabbit. But when God looked at Gideon, he saw a valiant warrior (mighty hero). So, when you ask God to reveal his will to you, you need to see what God sees. You need to look at yourself through the eyes of faith and not the eyes of doubt.
The second thing you need to see here is that when God tells you what to do, he goes with you. God didn’t send Gideon on a mission and say,
“Good luck. I wish you the best. When you get back be sure to call me and we’ll do lunch!
No, God was committed to being with him the whole time. He said it twice in just a few verses (which is the Bible’s way of showing something’s important). And so Gideon didn’t have to worry about his weaknesses because God was with him to provide what Gideon lacked. And God will be with you to do the same.
The Bible says ….
For God is working in you, giving you , not only the desire to obey him but the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13
Fear #4: I can’t be sure that I’ve really heard from God.
When it comes to hearing God’s voice, even the most mature followers have doubts. It’s only natural. God is invisible. He’s not sending sky writers over our houses to write out messages for us. But here’s the good news…God understands our concern and so he’ll do whatever we need to make his will obvious to us.
With Gideon, God actually confirmed his calling four times. Gideon asked for three signs[1] and God offered one on his own. Gideon asked for the first sign after God told him to lead the Israelites into battle against the Midianites. It says…
Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.”
That’s a fair request. Gideon wanted to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating or that this wasn’t some evil magician. So Gideon brought an offering to the angel of meat and bread and this is what happened.…
With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. Judges 6:21
That’s pretty impressive! I’d see that as a sign from God.
The second sign came after God told Gideon that he would beat the Midianites. Gideon wanted to make sure this was true so he asked for a sign. He said (paraphrase)…
God, if this idea is really from you, then I’m going to lay a fleece on the ground tonight. And if you are really telling me that I will win the battle against the Midianites, then may the fleece be wet in the morning from dew, but the ground dry.
That’s what happened.
The third sign happens the next night when Gideon reverses the prayer and asks that the ground be wet but the fleece dry. God obliges again.
I really like the fourth sign because it shows how God will go out of his way to give us what we need to encourage us. It’s the night before the battle and God seems to be concerned for Gideon so he tells him…
If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. Judges 7:10,11
I love that…if you are afraid. God is giving him the benefit of the doubt. Of course he was afraid! God knew it and so he provided Gideon with one last shot of encouragement. Eager to get some assurance, Gideon goes down to the enemies camp in the middle of the night and where he hears them talking about a dream that one of them had where Gideon won the battle. When Gideon heard the dream he stopped doubting…
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." Judges 7:15
So, God gave him what he needed to be convinced that he had heard from God and he’ll do the same for you.
Okay, those are the four fears that we have and I hope you see that they are groundless. God wants to speak to us and will do everything he can to help us both hear God and obey him. Now, in the second half here, let me make four observations about hearing from God.
Observation #1- God’s peace exists in spite of opposition.
After God told Gideon that he wanted him to fight the Midianites, it says…
And Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it "The LORD Is Peace." The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day. Judges 6:24
I find this response amazing. Gideon starts out clearly not at peace. First he’s whining, then he’s worried. But after God lays this incredible challenge on him, he’s at peace. How can that be?
In the New Testament, the Bible says that God offers a peace that passes understanding.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
This is a peace that really doesn’t make sense in light of the tough situation that you are in.
But a lot of people have told me that they think they’ve heard from God because they feel a peace. But from my perspective it’s not a peace that passes understanding- or is beyond comprehension. It’s a peace that makes sense because they are really avoiding God’s will, not obeying it.
Here’s an example. One time a friend of mind told me that he was going to move to another city because he thought he could be really successful in business if he did (that is, make millions). I told him it was a bad move because he was young in his faith and making money shouldn’t be his highest priority. I’m not usually so directive with someone – I respect the fact that everyone needs to hear from God themselves – but I really felt he was making a bad decision and so I challenged him about it for a couple of hours. But he finally said that it didn’t matter what I said because he had a peace about it.
Well, I hated hearing that because once someone plays that card, (“I have a peace”) the discussion is over - logic goes out the window. They’ve “got a peace” and that somehow absolves them of being logical. You can’t reason with them any more because they are basically saying, my mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts. My peace justifies my decision.
My friend moved away, never made his millions, and said it was a terrible decision. He admitted that he knew it wasn’t God. He just wanted to get rich. And he said that the “peace” he felt was just him feeling good about making money.
You see, God gives us a peace that passes understanding and the reason he does that is to encourage us to do the hard thing. It’s not a peace that comes by running away from conflict or the challenge of God’s will. So be careful when you say, “I just have a peace about it.” You need to ask yourself, “Where’s my peace coming from? Is it coming from God, to encourage me to do a hard thing? Or is it simply coming from my desire to escape a hard situation?”
Observation #2: The first step to doing God’s will is to radically put him first.
God’s will was for Gideon to fight the Midianites. But there was something he needed to do before he fulfilled God’s will for his life. He needed to tear down the altars that his dad had built to worship other gods in the center of the city.
That same night the Lord said to him, "Take the second bull from your father's herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering." So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. Judges 6:25-27