Hearing His Voice #365

Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.

Hebrews 3:7-8, 15; 4:7

The people of Israel had hardened their hearts in the wilderness, complaining against God and rebelling against His ways. They had heard His voice, but they didn’t believe it or cling to it for long. This hard-heartedness became a theme for prophetic voices and psalmists centuries later, and the writer of Hebrews brings it up again. God’s people were once again tempted to reject what He was saying because His ways seemed too difficult. They were contending against the direction God was leading.

This is a lesson for all of God’s people throughout all generations. The most important rule—and the one perhaps most neglected—is that those who hear Him must listen with a soft heart. That’s always the right response to God. A soft heart will yield to His words without complaint, without resistance, without suspicion, and without demanding to know why He says what He says. A soft heart will say yes to whatever God wants because it trusts His goodness implicitly. A soft heart complies with God—not one day, not tomorrow, but today.

That’s always the right time to respond to God, just as surely as a soft heart is always the right response. When He speaks—and as we’ve seen, He certainly does when we persevere in listening—there is no reason to delay our acceptance of what He has said. He may give us future direction, but He wants present faith—an immediate embrace of His voice. When you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Soften it and respond to what He says. Today.

Lord, today is always the day to hear. My ears are always open. Every day, I’m listening, hungering for the sound of Your voice and attentive to Your words. My heart is Yours. And my ears are ready for anything You want to say.