Hearing His Voice #30

It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Philippians 2:13, NIV

We talk a lot about our own sinfulness and depravity—how there’s nothing good in us, how we want “all of Him and none of me” in our relationship with God. This is a very humble attitude, of course, but it isn’t very scriptural. Yes, in and of ourselves, we have no righteousness, but God hasn’t left us in that condition, has He? According to His Word, He has filled us with His Spirit and given us a new heart. He has transformed us, not replaced us. We were created for a reason—to partner with Him, not fade out of the picture. And Paul assures us that it is God who works in us both to will and to act in order to fulfill His purposes. In other words, there are many desires inside us that are from Him and many actions we want to do that are exactly what He wants for us. He has implanted His will and His voice within us.

It’s true that we have other desires and voices within us at times; not everything we think or do is godly. But we are moving in the direction of godliness if we’re growing in Christ and allowing Him to be the source of our life, and He is rearranging our internal environment so that we become one with Him.

This is the context for hearing God’s voice. There will be times when we don’t know whether it’s our own voice or His because our minds and hearts are being shaped by Him. It is God who is working within us to desire and to do His will. As long as we have any vestige of fallen nature, we can’t make that truth absolute and say that it’s only God at work within us. But neither can we downplay this truth. This is God’s preferred method for speaking to us: being within us.

Lord, work powerfully within me to desire and to do Your will. Let Your thoughts and dreams become my thoughts and dreams.