Hearing God’s Voice in a Noisy World.

Discerning God’s voice takes courage, strength, and love. Learn how to stand firm in faith and lead as men of God in today’s world.

This past week, we have been reading a devotion on listening to God. In today's hectic world with all its distractions, nothing could be more important than hearing and acting on what God has to say to each of us.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Romans 12:2

The question we asked ourselves, and we are sure many of you think about, is how do you know when God speaks to you? Or, if you are like us, we believe it is God's voice when it is just a "voice" to support something WE want to do?

We were reminded that Satan is alive and well in this world and would love to distract us from hearing God's voice. Knowing our temptations, Satan will do everything he can to take us off course.   

"Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." Matthew 4:10

"Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns" Matthew 16:23

Knowing this, one of the verses we both focus on frequently comes to mind. It sits front and center in a frame in our office.  

"Be on your guard; Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16-13-14

As we think about discerning God's voice, how do we put these words of God into ACTION? As men, husbands, dads, papas, and co-workers, we must live these verses every day. As we said, Satan would love to distract us big time. Knowing that the following may be helpful.

• STAND FIRM IN HIS WORD: God's voice to us will always be consistent with the Word of God – The Bible. Put what you are hearing and doing to the "Bible Test."

• BE COURAGEOUS: God's message will usually conflict with the mainstream of conventional wisdom. Think of the world today. In so many ways, the voice and word of God are getting melted down and softened. "Hey, whatever feels good" seems to be the word of the day. We must be courageous and fight against that.

• BE ON YOUR GUARD: His message will clash head-on with today's social media draws, telling us it is all about likes and how many followers we have. Satan loves social media. Be on your guard for this in your life and your family.

• BE STRONG: God's voice will challenge us to do what 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says. We must be strong leaders in our homes, work, and world today. We cannot just push the "easy button". We must be examples to others of what living as men of faith looks like. This requires real strength gents.

"Be STRONG and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord" Psalm 31

Men, we MUST be on our guard, stay strong, be bold, and be men of courage. This is not easy and requires support and encouragement. We will get challenged.

DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE. This is the key. Even as we go against the flow of the mainstream world today, we must do it in a way that conveys God's love. It is not with a stick; it is with a carrot. Let's make what we do so attractive that it draws others to Jesus. May we convey to others a sense of peace that makes them ask, "Hey, what's up with that guy? I want some of that."

"A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" John 13:34

Let's face it: this is tough stuff, guys. To live in real-time, the words of 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 require encouragement and support from others. Hard to do it all on your own. One of the reasons we started Seven24 was this: We can support each other in being the men who created us and want us to be. We are stronger together.

In closing, since today is MLK Day, let's remember the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.  A great example of a man who lived "real-time" 1 Corinthians 16:13-14