In my last post I talked about how in our desire to hear God’s voice regarding the various things in our lives, we often forget one thing…God is love.

1 John chapter 4 tells us: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 

How many of you reading this think Christians love others well? If I’m right most you shook your head no. Professor Billy Walker said “Our spiritual transformation into Christ-likeness is the overarching aim of the Christian life, followed by the world’s transformation into the kingdom of God” (Walker, 2018).

That Kingdom of God is here right now, alive in us! It is not just something believers enter when they die! The minute we accept Jesus into our lives and the Holy Spirit indwells in us, we are in the Kingdom of God!

God also desires His will to be done both “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). And yes, that includes all those decisions I mentioned in my previous post like who to marry, where to go to school, mid-life career changes etc. So, how do we hear from God about those things?

OK, lets tie this all together. Remember the scripture we just read from 1 John about Love? Listen to this, 1 John 3:18-22 tells us:

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.”

Since God is love. We have to get to know God to understand how to love the way He desires us to. As we begin to know God, He will begin a spiritual transformation in us. A heart transformed by the Holy Spirit is not usually a heart that is condemned before God. Remember 1 John 3:21-22: “If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.”

So now we know why it is important to hear from God. More than getting what we want and need out of life; it is about loving others, spiritual transformation, and living in the Kingdom of God right here on earth.

But how do we hear from God? Well, learning to love others and obeying His commands is a good start.

But first, there are some misunderstandings we might have about hearing God’s voice. I’ll share some of those in my next post. Following that, I’d like to share some ways we may be hearing from God and not even know it!