You've
Got to Be Willing
There is a huge difference between wanting
to and willing to. I’ve found that it is the difference
between hearing God and remaining unaware of His presence and
His still soft voice. It’s the difference between dreaming
and experiencing. The difference between wanting to and willing
to is enormous when it comes to getting what you want. You have
to be willing to receive what you want. I believe at the core
of most every person in the world is a desire to hear God’s
voice. God created us with this desire to connect deeply in relationship,
not only with each other, but with Him, our Creator. We would
all want to be touched by the voice and presence of God. God
wants the same. He wants to be in relationship with every person.
The want is not the problem. It’s the willing that leaves too many of us
deaf to the daily utterances of God to us about our lives. Ezekiel 3: 7, 10-11
sheds light on this issue:
“But the house of Israel is not willing
to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me,
for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate… And
he said to me, Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart
all the words I speak to you. Go now to your countrymen in exile
and speak to them. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord
says, whether they listen or fail to listen.”
Ezekiel could hear God’s voice. Ezekiel
was one who not only wanted to hear God but was willing to hear
God. God explained the problems with the task He gave him. Just
because Ezekiel could hear God’s voice didn’t mean
that the rest of Israel would hear God’s voice. It’s
really a sad state when you think of it. The Israelites to whom
Ezekiel spoke were being held captives in a foreign land. They
knew that God had allowed their nation to be overcome and their
land to be overtaken because they ignored God’s voice.
Yet in the midst of their problem they still were not willing
to hear God. They may have wanted God’s help, but they
still weren’t willing to listen to what God had to say
to them. Earlier in the passage God described to Ezekiel that
it was not that the nation of Israel was illiterate or did not
know the language God was speaking. In fact, God said that if
He spoke to a people who did not know the language they would
listen. The problem with Israel was that they were not willing.
You have to be willing.
God not only created us with a desire to hear Him and know Him,
He also made us with an inability to hear Him and know Him, if
we are not willing. This is called free will, and with our free
will we break the heart of God and miss out on the wonderful
messages He continually wants to bring to us.
Are you having trouble hearing God’s voice? Check your
willingness factor. I know you want to hear Him. Are you truly
willing? If you are willing, you will hear Him speaking to you.
God desires nothing more than to fulfill your want to hear Him.
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