I don’t know the proper word, scared, worried, nervous, anxious, etc. But I definitely have something going on.

Today’s Blackaby lesson was a good one. Going in, I was really excited. Titled God Speaks to His People I was thinking… Yes, today is the day I learn how to hear God’s voice.

It is still early, so God has plenty of time to work on me today. But as of right now, I am more scared/worried/nervous/anxious than before the study.

The reason: John 8:47:

“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Wow. That hurts.

Blackaby goes on to summarize the verse like this:

If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the heart of you Christian relationship.

Good morning to you too Mr. Blackaby.

And while you might have thought he had gotten his point across, Blackably doubles down with this:

The key to knowing God’s voice is not a formula, nor is it a method you can follow. Knowing God’s voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God. That is why those who do not have the relationship do not hear what God is saying… You will have to depend on God alone. Your relationship with Him is of the upmost importance.

Ok… so what have we learned.

Well, we learned that I really need to work on my relationship with God. I no longer just want to hear Him. I now need to hear him. Because first and foremost I need to belong to God.

(An aside: I have read Blackaby’s book, as well as the New Testament a few times, and the gospel of John many times over. How has John 8:47 did not scared me before? I cannot remember a sermon or a Bible class on it, but that could just be my faulty memory. Interesting how I can totally gloss over a verse in one reading that can cut me to the core the next time.)

Now to the good news.

The good news is Aja and I are not sitting on our hands. We are not just floating through our lives as we have so many times before. We are seeking.

God says ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened (Luke 11:9 and Matthew 7:7). For the first time in a long time I feel that we are truly doing that.

We are seeking and we are knocking. And with the Lord’s blessing, we hope to be hearing from Him soon.