Listening to God can sometimes be hard, especially when He’s telling you to go in a different direction than what you want. Take the Three Wise Men. They met with King Herod on their way to see the Christ child. The king asked for them to come back and let him know where this child was so he could worship him also. However, Herod wanted to kill the child because he feared losing his power. Matthew 2:12 tells us, And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. If Herod had discovered the Wise Men went a different route home, he might have had them hunted and killed. It took guts to disregard the king’s wishes.
Imagine for a moment that the Magi hadn’t listened to God. What if they’d gone back to the king and reported on Jesus’ whereabouts? It’s enough to put goosebumps on your arms.
But isn’t that what we do, not listen when God is telling us to turn around or go a different way? We continue on the path we find is easiest instead of a more difficult path God might want us to go down.
We need to listen to God when He’s telling us to change our direction. He usually is trying to warn us of trouble ahead. Yet, we think we have the better answers. Sure, it can be hard to change, but when we listen to God, we end up with joy instead of despair.
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God speaks in a soft voice I can hear better when I resolve to listen and stop putting words in His mouth. – Elaine Orabona Foster, Author
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Is God telling you to leave a situation? If so, you need to listen. Change your route and take God’s path over your own, no matter how difficult.
It might be especially hard during the holiday season to focus on God. But make a point to take a few extra minutes out of your day to speak with Him and listen to what He has to say. God might be telling you to not spend too much money on gifts because you are already too far in debt. Or He might be saying to spend that extra money to hire someone to put that bike together so you won’t have to struggle with it on Christmas Eve. In both cases, by not listening, stress could be the outcome.
Take a few extra minutes out of each day to listen for God. See if He hasn’t been trying to get your attention. What He has to say is always important. I don’t know about you, but I’d sure hate to miss His voice.
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve felt nervous and decided to walk away only to find that it worked out better for you? Please share that time with us. Also if you are in need of prayer, please let us know. We’d love to pray for you and your situation.
