Have you ever been around those who hear God clearly and wondered why you don’t hear Him the same way? Why would God speak clearly to one person and not to another? Could we possibly be responsible for clogging up the channel of communication?

Ps 25:9 reads: He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. NIV The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines the word “humble” as someone who is submissive to God’s authority. King David tells us in Psalm 25:9 that He guides “the humble.” If God is silent and you are not receiving the guidance you are seeking, could it be because God is waiting for a heart attitude that will submit to His authority before He speaks? If He is silent, could it be because He already hears your argument before He has uttered one word?

James 4:6-8 reads: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. NIV The word “proud” means “appearing above others.” There are times when I am so busy telling God why I am right that I can’t hear what He wants to do in the situation. Have you ever refused to lose a fight because you won’t submit to a person who has wronged you? But what if God says, “The humble submit to my authority. I’m not asking you to submit to those who have wronged you. I am asking you to submit to me.” Observe the words, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” If God told you to forgive an offense, would you do it? Tough question, isn’t it? But this is the very question that will reveal to us the root problem if we have trouble hearing God.

Do you sometimes feel like the only presence around you is that of the devil making havoc in you life? Have you asked yourself, “Where is God in all this?” Our ability to resist the devil stems from a heart that is submissive to God. It is in our obedience that we are connected to God’s power. It is only when we “come near to God” because we want Him more than our personal opinion about a situation that we will find that “he will come near to you.” The question then becomes, “How badly do you want God?” If you want Him to come near to you then begin with a heart of humility that is ready to submit to His authority.

For the longest time, I wrestled with events in my life that God allowed. The fact that God is all powerful made things worse. It said to me that God could have intervened but didn’t. My challenge then was to submit to God’s authority. I once heard a preacher invite the audience to say “God is good.” He would then interject statements about life and they would respond with “God is good.” He said, “I got a promotion” and the audience said, “God is good.” He said, “I found the love of my life” and the audience said, “God is good.” He said, “We had a baby” and the audience said, “God is good.” Then he said, “The baby died” and the audience went dead silent. When I heard his sermon, the Lord brought back to me the verses in Genesis. From the very beginning God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of good and evil. From the very beginning God wanted to be the one to decide what is good and what is evil in our lives.

He chooses to allow events in our lives because they fit in the grander story that He is writing. Our invitation is to step into His story and to submit to His authority. When we are ready to say, “I trust your heart. Even in this, I know we are living in a time of delay because your heart is for all those who will perish without the saving gift of your Son. I know that all our stories were allowed to somehow tell the world about your story. I submit to your authority and to the story that you have chosen to be the headliner story. I ask that you use my life, Lord. I ask that I willingly give up my greatest treasure if it will somehow add to the story you are telling.” Is God using your story to be an example of His grace? Or is He using your story to show the world that the God who gave up His one and only Son is worthy of your greatest treasure? If you have had to give up a loved one for a season, is He using your story to make a statement that we serve a God who let go of Jesus for 33 years when He sent Him to earth to die for our sins and we find it a privilege to fellowship with God in the suffering of giving up a loved one for a season? I don’t know about you but I start to hear God clearly when I realize that all things were created by Him and for Him. I will hear Him clearly when I lose my story in His.

Our human logic tells us that humility diminishes us. Our emotions drive us to fight for our own survival. The test of faith is when God uses a situation to test if we will submit to Him and let go of whatever we try to cling to. Would you trust His heart and believe that in due time, He will lift you to your rightful position?

I pray this devotion encouraged you in a special way. When I pray for you, I “hear” a victory song. I believe in you because I believe in the power of God’s Word in you as you put His Word into action.

Love from Anita Carman