” My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God”
Proverbs 2:1-5 (ESV)
Every single one of us needs this in our lives- to hear the voice of God. This is one of the most important things, understanding that God actually wants to communicate with us. Not only has he already spoken through his word, but he wants to talk to people like me, people like you. Even today. The God of heaven, the King of Kings wants to talk to me and each one of you.
Let’s use the example of the Queen, if the Queen was to ring any one of us, what are the chances you are going to hang up on her? You would probably think someone was being a real idiot to hang up on the chance to speak to the Queen.
And yet, so many people, young and old, hang up when it comes to God speaking to us. We don’t want to listen to his voice. Maybe we are scared of what he has to say, maybe we have made ourselves too busy we tell ourselves we don’t have time to listen, or maybe we are just happy going along with our own ideas and plans.
I wouldn’t hang up if the Queen ever rang me, but I’m also not going to ‘hang up’ when God tries to speak to me. And neither should you.
The first thing that God speaks to us about is our need to be saved, before he says anything else about your life, before you start thinking about your hopes, dreams and passions, God is saying I love you and I need you to become part of my family.
I became a Christian, I started following Jesus, when I was 8 years old. God called me from my sin, into his light and I became a new person by putting my trust in him. Now I am part of God’s family. How amazing is God’s grace?
Please read Luke 19:1-10
- Jesus came for you.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”
Luke 19:10 (ESV)
Jesus didn’t come for healthy people; he came for sick people like you and me who he wants to give freedom and new life to.
The voice of God says, “I came for you”.
- Zacchaeus Listened
“So, he hurried and came down and received him joyfully”
Luke 19:6 (ESV)
Zacchaeus did everything in his power so that he could hear from Jesus, and then he listened to what he said. Once he listened, we see a change in his life and a change in his attitude. He went from being a thief to giving back everything and more he had taken.
- Jesus Changed his life
“And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods, I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold”.
Luke 19:8 (ESV)
When we hear God’s voice and respond to it, God can change our lives. He changes us forever.
God says I am calling you to be saved, calling you to be part of his family. Before we worry about anything else, that is the first thing we must understand about how and what God’s voice is saying.
Written by Simon Barr
