Hearing His Voice #303

If I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!

Jeremiah 20:9

God’s voice can burn. There are times when we are only to hear and respond. But there are also times when He speaks and expects us to be His mouthpiece. Voicing His words becomes something like a pressure-release valve that relieves us from the intensity of the message. But if we hold it in—if we are reluctant to go out on a limb and express what God has told us to speak—the pressure can become exhausting. The word smolders inside of us, growing into bigger flames the longer we hold it in. When God wants to deliver a message through us, it eventually has to come out.

More people are interested in hearing God’s voice for themselves than in hearing it on behalf of others. We have all been given an invitation to pursue prophetic gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1), but we are reluctant prophets when we have to handle hard words from God. It’s easier not to hear than to hear and try to hold it in. When God’s message is unpopular, we don’t want to be unpopular by voicing it.

This is why prophetic messengers must find their identity in God alone and not in the approval of others. We can hardly blame Jeremiah for his reluctance to be the messenger; he risked his reputation and his life on many occasions to say what God told him to say. Most of us will never be in that position, but we may get a taste of his dilemma when God entrusts us with His truth. Will we let the fire consume us within? Or let it do its purifying work in the world? Genuine love will compel our hearts to speak hard words when needed.

Lord, I want to be obedient to speak Your word, but I also don’t want to miss the timing or speak presumptuously. Fill me with Your fire—and the boldness to spread it wisely.