Hearing His Voice #325

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

When a husband and wife become “one flesh,” they begin a lifelong process of learning each other’s personalities, tendencies, habits, and even thought patterns—to the point that they often know what the other is thinking even when those thoughts are not expressed. With no loss of individuality, they become one. And the world begins to see them as a unit, not without distinct personalities, but with a common will and purpose. They are joined to each other in a way that gives them the ability to know and represent each other’s voices.

In a much deeper way, we are joined to God’s Spirit when we enter a relationship with His Son. We then begin a lifelong process of learning His personality, ways, and thoughts—even to the point of knowing what He is thinking. Paul earlier noted that we have the mind of Christ, and now he writes that our spirits and Christ’s have become one. Paul wrote these words in a specific moral context, but the truth, also expressed by Jesus in John 17:21-24, has huge implications. It means, among many other things, that when we are listening for God’s voice, we aren’t listening at a distance. When the Spirit leads us to speak His words, we aren’t being presumptuous. We can hear and express His thoughts, not because we’re well educated or superspiritual, but because we’re connected. His Spirit and ours are one.

Many of us err by being either overassuming or underassuming about our awareness of God’s presence and voice, but humble confidence is always appropriate. He has assured us that we are united with Him, not just theoretically, but practically. We don’t know Him perfectly, but we do know Him with certainty. And when we need to hear Him, we need listen no further than our own spirits.

Lord, it’s hard to understand how I can be “one” with You, and even harder to know how to hear Your Spirit when it’s joined to mine. Yet this is the close relationship I’ve longed for. Help me know Your thoughts with certainty.