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Have you ever been in a predicament where you had more than one person telling you what to do and each voice had a different instruction about the same issue?
Peter and the apostles found themselves in a similar situation. The authorities ordered them not to teach about Jesus, but they had been commissioned by Jesus to do just that. Two voices. Two different sets of instructions. Who would they listen to? Despite facing persecution, they chose to listen to God. They were not distracted by others’ threats nor the inner voice of fear. Instead, the apostles focused on Jesus’ commission to them: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Listening to God’s voice over other voices is even harder today. Social media alone brings a plethora of voices. The voices of money, materialism and careers may also distract us. Well-meaning voices of loved ones might try to convince us to make what seem to them like better, realistic choices. Each voice has the ability to influence us to stray from God’s will.
However, as followers of Jesus Christ, our response to these voices should really be no different than Peter’s response to the authorities: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29) Yes, that might mean disappointing others, including our loved ones. Yes, we may face consequences for listening to God over others. But as the late Charles Stanley said, we are to “obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.” Not an easy thing to do but perhaps the wisest thing we can do when we are faced with the choice of who to listen to.
So, who are you listening to? Every day we have opportunities to choose who to listen to. Perhaps it’s in the decision whether to continue staying on the field when life gets dangerously uncomfortable for our family. Maybe it’s the choice to cut back on social media which keeps us in contact with loved ones but causes us to compare ourselves to others and pull our hearts away from God’s will. Whatever decision it is, may we remember that amid all the voices, the voice of God is right there waiting for us to listen; the voice of the One who sees all and knows all. Let’s pray daily that as we go about our way, we will listen to His voice over all others; to walk the path He has for us and trust that it is the best one to take (Proverbs 3:5-6).
When was a time when you had many voices trying to tell you what you should do, including the voice of God? Whose voice did you listen to and what was the result?
When I was offered a full-time position at a school I was subbing at, there were a few voices in my ear. There was the voice of my family who saw this job as a great opportunity to get back to teaching full time. There was the voice of the principal who offered me the job who thought I would be a good fit. There was the voice of others at the school who were excited to see me there full-time. There was the voice of money that saw this as an opportunity to expand my bank account. The biggest voice was mine as I saw this opportunity as redemption after being passed over for a similar job years before. God’s voice was there too but honestly, I can’t even recall what He wanted in this choice. My voice won out of all the voices. The result was a job that was not what I expected and caused me great stress. I resigned from the job at the end of the first term. If I had listened carefully to God’s voice, I realize now that I would have never taken that job and would have remained in the lane He had me in at that time.