Day 1 - God Speaks
As you begin to spend time with God, settle yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Spend a few moments gathering your thoughts, becoming aware of God’s presence with you and in you.
Then, begin today’s devotional.
Read: John 10:27-28
“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”
God speaks.
When you read those words, what comes to mind? How do you react? Read these words again, but this time, really think about them. These are two everyday words, but when put together, they create one of the most powerful statements in human history. Are you ready to say them? Before you do, take a deep breath in. Now let it out. You may feel silly, but that’s okay. Say these words out loud so you can hear yourself, nice and slow.
God.
Speaks.
When you said and heard these words, what came to your mind? What arose in your emotions? Did it sound obvious? Did it sound foreign? Did it make you smile? Did it make you self-conscious? Did it bring you joy? Your reaction to those simple words may be one of the most important things about you; a litmus test of sorts.
Throughout this devotional series, we will consider things like why God speaks, who He speaks to, how to hear Him, what stops us from hearing Him, and more. As we begin this journey, I want us to first take a step back and think about the fact that God does speak. That reality tells us a few different things:
God is relational. The fact that God speaks shows that He desires relationship. He is not simply about informing or teaching or instructing or commanding. God is about speaking. He is about dialogue. He is ultimately about relationship.
You are relational. The fact that God speaks shows that we are relational souls. We are designed not just to complete tasks, not just to be another version of Alexa performing duties, not just to make things happen. We are designed to be in relationship with God. One could say we are designed to keep up our Snap-streak with God. We are designed to relate with God.
God initiates relationship. The fact that God speaks shows that He initiates our relationship. It’s easy to believe the lie that our relationship with God is primarily contingent on us, on our behavior, on our thinking, our goodness, our morality, our theology, our lifestyle, our sincerity, etc. The reality that God speaks shouts over these lies and doubts and proclaims that our relationship with God is not first about us or contingent on our initiation. Our relationship with God is first about God’s initiation and God’s activity. God’s voice in our lives is first about His desire to relate with us. Like all good relationships we have to put in some effort, but in this relationship God has already done the heavy lifting. God initiates. We just say “yes.” God invites. We just learn in. God speaks. We just learn how to listen.
I want to focus for a second on you. What I’m about to say may be the most important thing for you to trust Jesus about for the next few weeks. The fact that God speaks to you shows that God wants you. God is not neutral in His feelings towards you. He isn’t melancholy. He isn’t confused. He isn’t deliberating. God wants you, plain and simple. God is not trying to make it difficult to for you to have a relationship with Him. He is trying to teach you how to relate with Him, as he continually reaches out to you.
God speaks. Our job is to learn how to listen.
Prayer:
Father, over these next 21 days, would you help me and the other members of my community to be open to hearing Your voice and to deepen our relationship with You...
Journal:
Take a few moments to journal through the following question(s).
Dallas Willard once said, “There is no avoiding the fact that we live at the mercy of our ideas. This is never more true than with our ideas about God” (Hearing God).
When you say and hear the words “God speaks,” what are your immediate thoughts? What are your immediate feelings?
When you think about your past experiences with hearing God’s voice, what comes to mind? What are some moments that God may have been speaking to you? What did He speak to you about?
If you could become a person who hears God and who knows that God hears you, what would you want to listen to and talk to Him about?
Today's Practice:
Repurpose your phone to talk to God. For today only, change your wall paper to this graphic that says “God Speaks.” Then take a piece of tape or a string and put it on your phone. Whenever you touch your phone or see the wallpaper, physically pause, take a breath, talk to God and listen for God’s voice. Ask God if there’s anything He wants to talk about. Remember He is with you throughout your day.
By Christian Dawson, Campus Pastor