The Volume Isn’t the Issue—Your Position Is

When I was sixteen years old, I bought some really cool headphones so I could listen to my music as loud as I wanted without getting yelled at. I remember one time I was in my room rocking out to Aerosmith, when suddenly something touched my shoulder. I screamed bloody murder. It was my dad. He said, “I’ve been calling you for ten minutes!!!” Well, of course you have, Dad, because every time I put on these headphones, somebody wants to talk to me. It seems I missed an important phone call. Dad tried to tell me. He was speaking to me. There was no problem with his communication. But I was not in a position to listen.

As we continue our study on hearing God, we must realize that God does speak to us, but we will only hear him if we’re in a position to listen.

That involves, in part, living in submission to him.

We can believe in God, want his protection and guidance, and really want to hear from him, but when we ignore what he’s already told us in his Word, we create a hearing problem. There’s often some area in our lives where we’ve chosen to live the way we want to, regardless of what the Bible says. It’s one compartment of our lives we’re keeping for ourselves. We’re saying, “God, you can have 99.5% percent control of me, but this .5%, this is mine, I’m doing it my way.”

What is it in your life that’s so important that you’d rather miss hearing God speak to you than give it up?

When Jesus was in Gethsemane, he prayed an amazing prayer:

Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42)

“Your will be done.” Can you honestly say that to God?

“God, I surrender every single part of my life to you, even the parts that I want to hold on to. Your will be done.” Can you pray that?

If we want to hear from God, we must have a “Your will be done” attitude.

Sometimes that’s scary. What if God sends me to Africa? What if I lose my business? What if I lose my girlfriend?

I would answer those questions with another question: “Hasn’t God proven his love for you?”

He sent his Son to die for your sins. Jesus willingly surrendered to the Father’s will and hung on that cross for you. Has he not proven how much he loves you? Has he not shown you over and over again that he always wants what’s best for you? Even when “his best” for us doesn’t coincide with what we think is “our best”?

Is there something in your life you still won’t let go of? You love it so much that you’re willing to miss God speaking to you rather than letting it go?

God wants to speak to you, but you have to be in a position to hear. “Your will be done” will put you in that position. Are you ready to surrender to God and hear him? God is speaking. Whether you listen is up to you.