What Keeps us From Hearing God's Voice?

The Bible says that God "knows the plans He has for us. Plans to prosper us and not harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) Yet it's hard to believe these words of hope when we are bombarded by disappointments and brokenness. The Bible promises that if we seek Him with all our heart - we'll find Him. But what keeps us from hearing the voice of God? How can we be filled with His hope - when the tidal wave of pain paralyzes our emotions? Today, I will address 2 reasons we do not hear the voice of God.

John 8:47

"He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

First Reason we do not hear the voice of God: NOT truly belonging to God.

Do you belong to God? Are you one of His children? Can you remember when you made the deliberate decision to accept Him as Savior of your life? The Bible says in John 1:12, "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." This is how we know we belong to God: by believing and receiving Him into our lives.

My sister, a Children's Ministry Director explains that it is as easy as A-B-C.

A = Admit you are a sinner.

B= Believe that Jesus died on the Cross for YOU.

C= Confess that you want Him to be your Lord.

Girlfriend, if you cannot remember when you did this - do it today!

2nd Reason we can't hear the voice of God: Unbelief

Let's review the first part of today's key verse:

John 8:47 - He who belongs to God hears what God says.

Do you believe that God still speaks? Perhaps He used to speak during Biblical times, but certainly He doesn't speak anymore today? Or, do you think that He only speaks to the preachers, teachers and special people. The perfect people? The almost perfect people? Think again!

The Bible says, that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." In order to be filled with hope despite the circumstantial tidal waves of uncertainty, disappointment and heart break, we must first believe that He will speak to us!

Do you believe? Be honest with yourself - do you really believe that God will speak to you? Healing come come; Purpose can come; Comfort can come from One and One Source only - The Words of God found in the Bible. Listen to one of my favorite treasures -

Psalm 107:20 "He sent forth His word and healed them."

If we want healing from God, we've got to believe that He is still a God Who speaks and is willing to speak personally to you!

More to come...

Heartbreak, Disappointment and Broken Dreams

I'm working on some intriging thoughts with marriage - not quite ready to post - Stay tuned to next week. In the meantime, I'd love to address a heartbreaking note I received last week from a woman who is dealing with infertility. As I began praying for her, I started to think about all the women who may be experiencing disappointment, heartbreak or a shattered dream. I'll break this into 2 segments. Today is Part 1.

John 10:3-4

"He calls His own sheep by name... His sheep follow Him because they know His voice."

I'll never forget the first time I realized that the God of the Universe was speaking to me. It was following an OB/GYN visit, after having discovered that I miscarried our first baby. My husband and I were devastated. The following morning in my quiet time, I flipped to the Psalms, as was my normal custom. That particular day - I was on Psalm 113. Listen to the precious words found in verse 9:

"He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children."

Could this be the God of the Universe speaking to me? Could this verse really be saying what I was hoping it was saying? Or was this just some cruel coincidence? I decided to believe that this was Jesus. And it was. Jesus was speaking through the words of the Bible into the depths of my wounded heart.

Through this one sentence, God gave me a promise that I would never forget and hold close to my heart for years to come. The promise He gave me through those 14 words were:

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  That I would become pregnant again-


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  That I would have more than one child-


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  That I would be a stay-at-home mother-


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  That I would be happy and content in this challenging role-

Four years later - He fulfilled this promise.

If you are in a place of utter despair - go the Lord and ask Him to give you a promise. Ask Him to reveal His will to you. The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:13: "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,"declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."

What captivity are you currently in? Is it a broken relationship; a broken dream; a huge disappointment? The precious woman who sent the note is in the captivity of infertility. However, we all at one time or another, find ourselves in a captivity of some kind or another. I pray that by sharing my story - that I by no means tease her or lead her to think that I know the will of God for her life. I do not know if it is God's will for her to have a child. But these 3 things I KNOW - and I hope it encourages her and you as well:

#1. God speaks and He will speak clearly and personally to us through the Words of the Bible.

#2. Despite the depth of pain our circumstances can bring, God is crazy in love with her (and you) and has a plan for her life. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (v29)

#3. God is willing to reveal is will to her - to you - and to me. But we must first go to Him. We must seek Him with all our heart.

Then... we will know His plan and purposes in the midst of our brokenness.

Tomorrow: What keeps us from hearing from God?

Words Matter

Philippians 4:8

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lively, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

My 40th birthday was Friday! And my husband has absolutely spoiled me. He's calling it "Taraukkah"! (After Hanukkah) Please KNOW that I'm not trying to be boastful or elicit any form of coveting. (Trust me, I have my fair share of issues.) But I want to give a shout-out to him because he's awesome and so is my family. Birthday's are big in our family. In fact, my Dad started sending "it's coming" emails 2 days prior to April 1st. And my husband proclaimed last Wednesday - "that the birthday week shall commence!" And it has! In fact, I'm sick of me. But Tim's thoughtfulness, creativity, and effort has touched my heart more than I can ever really communicate to him. He has truly focused on my favorite things, my favorite foods and my favorite people. Though I've tried to communicate my gratitude - my cup still overflows from his thoughtfulness.

The other reason I'm sharing this is NOT to elicit "happy birthday's" from each of you, but to spring board today's topic - How are we talking to our men? Are we glass 1/2 empty girls or are we glass 1/2 full girls? Are we using our WORDS to thank and praise our men? Today's work culture is cut throat. Many men do not have jobs. But the ones who do - I can assure you - they are not hearing words of affirmation from their bosses in the workplace. So what about at home? Are they hearing words of affirmation and appreciation from you? Just as we are starving for our love language to be met by our husbands, they too are starving for words of praise and encouragement. Let me give you some examples:

• "Thank you for taking out the trash."


• "Thank you for going to work today."


• "Thank you for giving the kids a bath."


• "You look so nice. Your butt looks great in those pants!" (Sorry girls, but this is real life- let's be real!)


• "You are such a great father."


• "You are such a thoughtful and wonderful husband. Thank you for being such a great provider."

Even if your husband only does one thing - and you wish he'd do MUCH MORE - thank him for that one thing. Perhaps if you begin to thank him on a regular basis, he'll begin to do more. Anytime your husband puts forth an effort - notice it and thank him for it. RESIST all temptation to focus any negatives.

Our husband's may be big and macho on the outside - but on the inside - most of them are very sensitive. Our words make a difference. I want to challenge you to make a list of 10 things that you love about your husband. Place your list in your prayer journal. Go back over it as often as needed. This will enable you to "think about the excellent or praiseworthy" things in your marriage. THEN COMMUNICATE IT!

Have a super day!