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Knowing God’s Voice by the Approach
God calls and woos us with the gentle voice of a shepherd who leads
his sheep. Like a ravening wolf, Satan seeks to drive the sheep
into panic. He threatens, demands, and intimidates.
The Lord’s voice is quiet and deeply internal. Satan’s
voice is intrusive. He is that thief who seeks illegal entrance
into the sheepfold that Jesus described in John 10:11.
Knowing God’s Voice by the Content
God always speaks in ways that concur with major principles of Scripture
and his attributes as revealed in Scripture. This is not the same
as so-called proof-texting, where a verse is used out of context
to make a specific point. That’s what Satan did when he quoted
Scripture to Jesus during his temptation.
God’s voice drips with mercy and grace toward us and
toward others. He does not condemn our personal worth.
God is more apt to urge us to change our attitudes (and sometimes
our specific behaviors). Satan speaks in ways that create feelings
of personal condemnation. And he wants us to have condemning, unmerciful
attitudes toward others.The Lord’s voice usually focuses on
changing us rather than on urging us to change others.
God’s voice is grounded in truth and hope in contrast to being
grounded in past, negative experiences. (Remember that
Jesus urged his weary disciples to put their nets on the right side
of the boat despite their past failure to catch fish.)
Our Lord usually focuses on the here and now rather than on the
future (“Don’t worry about tomorrow” Matthew 6:34).
Satan encourages us in our natural tendency to live in the past
or the future.
God’s counsel is practical and simple rather than impractical
and complicated. For example, Jesus is more apt to tell
us to take cookies to a new neighbor today than to take a boatload
of Bibles to Iraq next year.
Similarly, God usually speaks to the ordinary and mundane in contrast
to the spectacular, which appeals to our desire for approval and
applause.
Knowing God’s Voice by the Effects
V We will have more hope rather than
less when God speaks to us.
V Hearing God’s voice produces
more empathy for others. Satan wants us to despise and/or envy others.
V Listening to God brings a greater
sense of peace-even when our outward circumstances do not change.
V Listening to Satan increases our
ingratitude, dissatisfaction, and anxiety.
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