“There are certain things God will not say.”

A thought by John Ortberg from his book, What Is God's Will for My Life? (p. 94). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

John says, “He won’t say: ‘Be anxious’; or ‘Think only about yourself’; or ‘You might as well give up in despair.’” He won't say that.

And if you have spent time with him, reading his word and meditating on it you will know that he says the complete opposite.

But as John says, “I might be tempted to say those things to myself. But if I hear those thoughts, I can be confident they are not from God.”

He goes on, “Developing the ability to be guided by God is more about consistent obedience than about spectacular discernment.

“But I must cultivate the habit of listening. This means making the time and space for reflection. It requires that I stop talking every now and again and get away from noise and screens and stimulation. It means silence. In George Bernard Shaw’s play about Joan of Arc, Joan is on trial before the weak and easily frustrated King Charles. Joan explains the inspiration for her extraordinary actions: ‘I hear voices telling me what to do. They come from God.’

“The exasperated king says, ‘Oh, your voices. . . . Why don’t the voices come to me? I am king, not you.’

“Joan answers, ‘They do come to you, but you do not hear them. You have not sat in the field in the evening listening for them. . . . If you prayed from your heart and listened . . . you would hear the voices as well as I do.’”

Oh God does speak to you. Just spend time with him. Read his word. Cultivate a personal relationship with him, really get to know him and listen, really listen and then be obedient to what he says. He does speak to you.

So will you stop, listen and do what he says?

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