Hearing His Voice #29

[The Lord said,] “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27

If a cat wanted to become a dog, it would take a lot more than learning how to bark, dig, and slobber. It would require having the heart and mind of a dog, taking on the entire canine lifestyle, being doglike—not just because that’s how dogs behave, but because it’s who the cat has become. It would take a new set of instincts, a genuinely transformed nature that results in new behavior.

A cat can’t become a dog, of course; it’s impossible. But so is the transformation from a person who does the right things because they are right to a person who does the right things because that’s his or her nature. It’s one thing to do good because we’re told it’s good and therefore we obey. It’s quite another to do good because we’re good deep down inside and goodness is what naturally flows out. That’s the new heart we’re promised and the new nature we’re given by God’s Spirit. That’s what it means to partake of the “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

That’s also the process for hearing God’s voice. We often look to Him for information, when really He is transforming our inner nature so that the direction and motivation we seek comes out of who we are deep inside. He is after a deep, inward relationship, not just a conversation about facts. And as He transforms us, we find more and more that His voice comes from within us, because that’s where He resides. This is our goal—not merely a voice from beyond, but a voice from within that springs from our new nature. This is where God reveals His heart.

Lord, I want to hear Your heart and share Your heartbeat. I want to carry Your voice within me, not just hear words. Please plant Your will deep within me.