Key Bible Passages: John 10:27, Psalm 119:105 and Psalm 46:10

Have you ever been on a farm on a hot summer’s day, out in the fields surrounded by animals? Despite the idyllic scenery of green meadows, blue skies and golden rays coming down, I can guarantee this will not be a peaceful time. The sheer noise of the farm and its animals can be annoying at the best of times, and deafening at the worst. Similarly to the farm, life is messy, chaotic and loud. We’re constantly doing things, seeing things, hearing things. Different voices, opinions and ideas clutter our conversations and, even at times, our minds. Put bluntly, life is noisy!

So how do we hear God over the noise? For most of us, we’ll never have heard the audible voice of God - or at least not a voice that we recognise as the audible voice of God.

In John 10:27, Jesus even says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

As followers of Christ, were blessed to say that Jesus knows us. We’re even more blessed to say that we can know Jesus too, when we listen to His voice and follow Him. But how do we hear the voice of our Shepherd over the bleating of the flock?

Well one of the ways God speaks directly to us is through His Word. John 1:1 tells us “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Later in this passage John 1:14 says, “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” Here we find out that Jesus is the Word of God, the very Word of God that we get to engage with when we read our Bibles. Right here we see the importance of reading our Bibles, something that becomes even more important when life gets busy and things get noisy!

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 119:105, ”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

When we read God’s Word, found in our Bibles, we not only receive light in dark times, but a light that reveals which direction to take, which choice to make and the route in which God wishes to lead us. It’s often when the other voices in our lives get louder, be it friends, family, strangers or acquaintances, that we find it harder to hear God’s voice. Later in the same Psalm, the Psalmist writes, “Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.” - Psalm 119:133. We know that His Word will guide us in any and all circumstances - we’ve just got to make sure we’re engaging with it.

Another way in which God speaks to us is through His Holy Spirit. Rather than an audible voice, the Holy Spirit often places things on our hearts or in our minds. When we pray to be guided by the Holy Spirit we’re often surprised by how He speaks to us. It’s almost as though the Spirit cuts through the noise and makes things clear to us, sometimes without us even realising. When life is chaotic we need to make sure we’re spending time in prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to work in and through our lives - to guide us and make His will clear.

One of the best ways we can engage with both the Word and the Spirit is through being still. When we take time out of our day to be still we can forget about the noise that surrounds us and concentrate on Jesus.

In fact we’re even commanded this in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!”

So, when things get noisy are you prepared for God to speak? To be still and know? To read His Word and be guided by His Spirit?

Questions

To help with further reflection, thought or application.

1: Where in your day could you make time to read your Bible?

2: What might the Holy Spirit be saying to you today?

Prayer

“Lord, when life gets noisy help me to be still and know that You are God, speak to me through your Word and guide me by your Spirit today. Amen.”

We’ve created an audio version of this devotional that can be listened to as a Podcast.