As Christians, we have the privilege of a personal relationship with the Lord, and He has deposited the Holy Spirit within us to be our comforter and counselor. We don’t need to go to a priest to intercede on our behalf neither do we depend on others to be the voice of God for us. The challenge with hearing God’s voice is that He is not the only one talking to us. There are many voices around us that can either resemble the voice of the Lord or have great influence in our lives. Are you familiar with the voice of God? Do you ensure that His voice has preeminence in your life?
The Preeminence of God’s Voice
So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Genesis 3:17
The above scriptures clearly shows that Adam was familiar with God’s voice. He was also familiar with Eve’s voice, and he chose her voice over God’s voice, which led him into sin. God prohibited them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of the good and evil, and Adam and Eve both knew this. However, out of the desire to please his wife, Adam chose to follow Eve and sinned against God. He was familiar with both voices, but he chose to prioritize the voice of his wife over the voice of God.
So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Genesis 16:2
Abraham made the same mistake and cost him dearly. He never checked in with God to see what He says about this. God had not directed him to sleep with his maid, but he did it to please his wife. The nation of Israel continues to suffer due to Abraham’s disobedience in having Ishmael.
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” Genesis 27:11-13
In the above scripture, Jacob is influenced by his mother to deceive Issac. Rebekah plotted a plan for Jacob to get his brother’s inheritance by lying to his father. His mother specifically encouraged him to listen to her because she had his best interests at heart. While she promised that she is willing to incur any curse upon her, everyone was hurt and impacted by Jacob’s lies and manipulation. Rebekah had a promise from God when she was pregnant with the twins. Jacob was going to be greater than Esau, but now she and Jacob took in their own hands to fulfill the promise.
Just because someone deeply loves us, it doesn’t mean, they always hear the voice of God. Sometimes people out of love, get into the flesh and try to fix the situation in an ungodly way for us. Are you familiar with God’s voice? Are there people in your life whose voice can be so important that you tend to disregard the voice of God in a given situation? This voice may not always be the voice of your spouse. It could be the voice of your boss, pastor, children, parents, or friends. Does God have the opportunity to override someone else’s voice in your life?
