Hearing His Voice #235

This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Jeremiah 6:16

Our quest to hear God always brings us to an intersection of the new and the old. The new is God’s personal direction for this moment of our lives. He opens up new insights into His Word and reveals specific steps we should take. The old is what He has already shown us about His nature and His ways. He will not give us new doctrine, only insights into eternal truth. He will not lead us in ways that contradict His character or purposes, but only those that fit our relationship with Him and our role in His Kingdom. To sort it all out, we sometimes have to stop at the crossroads and look around. And we may need to take our focus off of getting “new truth” and put it on what God has already said.

Thousands of years of revelation have been laid out behind us. We can’t depart from it. It was true when spoken, and coming from the mouth of an eternal God with no lack of foresight, it is true now. He changes His methods from time to time and even person to person—the Bible itself gives us a multitude of means by which He spoke, as well as situational instructions—but His nature and His ultimate purposes do not shift with the times. His work progresses from generation to generation, but His character does not. Much of hearing God’s voice, especially in Scripture, involves discerning the difference between His eternal purposes and His momentary methods. We have to see into His heart.

Make that a priority. Knowing God’s heart is the better part of hearing His voice. His heart is ageless and has not changed. Stop at the crossroads and look at where He has been. Then you will know where He is going and be able to fall in step with Him.

Lord, give me deep, rich insights into Your Word. Show me ancient paths and eternal meaning. Let me see into Your heart.