Hearing His Voice #143

When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade [Paul], we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

Acts 21:14

Though God encourages us to surround ourselves with Spirit-inspired advisers, there will be times when we have to stand alone. Not many counselors would have encouraged Abraham that he should hang on to receive God’s promise of a child at the age of one hundred. Joseph almost got killed for the dream God gave him. No military adviser would endorse Joshua’s battle plan of marching around Jericho. No one would have told Jesus, “Yes, we think going to the cross is the right direction for You.” Nearly all of Paul’s friends told him not to go to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. Yet in all these cases, the counselors—both hypothetical and real—would have been wrong. God was calling each of these people, as well as many prophets and saints throughout Scripture and history, to follow Him regardless of what those around them would advise.

Think about it: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Job, the prophets, Jesus, and Paul all had to do or believe something that defied human reason. At times, they had to go against advice from people who knew God well. The “many advisers” in their lives sometimes gave good but misguided counsel, and sometimes they directly opposed God’s plan. These faithful people had to know God’s voice well enough to ignore contradictory advice.

We must also learn God’s voice that well. We should always listen to Spirit-inspired people, but we are never to blindly follow their counsel. There will be times when we have heard God clearly enough that no other voice should be allowed to influence us. God uses such experiences not to give us an excuse for our independent tendencies, but to stretch our faith and refine our hearing. In humility and strength, we must resolve to go where He leads, no matter what anyone else says.

Lord, give me the discernment to know when You are speaking to me through Your people and when You are speaking to me apart from them. Give me the humility to follow advice and the wisdom and resolve to know when to reject it.