Enter into God’s peace to hear his voice

God desires to speak to us. Where does he speak to us? At the altar of incense! Samuel was sleeping by the Ark of the Covenant. It was there that the Lord called out to Samuel – not Samuel to the Lord. Our ears are consecrated to the Lord above all else.

Today, the Lord speaks directly. There is no need for any other mediator. Unfortunately, many Christians think they cannot hear the Lord’s voice. Yet the Epistle to the Hebrews says:

"God … has spoken to us in these last days through his Son," (Hebrews 1:2)

Unfortunately, many Christians think they cannot hear the Lord’s voice. Yet the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that God speaks to us through his Son. The Lord does not speak in a complicated way. We think it is so difficult to understand him. A father does not speak to his children in a highly philosophical manner.

Everything that the Lord created during his six days of creation came into being through his Word. That is why we, too, need the Word of God today – a Word that calls into being what does not yet exist (cf. Hebrews 1:2).

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion on the day of the temptation in the wilderness,’" (Heb. 3:7–8)

The problem is not that God does not speak, but that our hearts are hard. In order to receive the word of the Holy Spirit, we need to draw close to the Lord with all our heart. Sometimes it seems as though we hear nothing. Then we need to wrestle with the Lord and enter into his rest. It is only there that the Lord speaks.

"And whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with Him, he would hear the voice speaking to him from the mercy seat which is on the Ark of the Covenant, between the two cherubim; and He would speak to him." (Num. 7:89)

"And the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, into the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim." (2 Chr. 5:7)

Our hearts must be cleansed of all hardness, rebellion and anything that hinders the Lord. In the courtyard, we leave all this behind so that we may go further in, right to the innermost part, to hear his voice.

To sit quietly before the Lord also requires maturity. Small children cannot sit still for even a minute. We, too, are constantly wanting to do something. We find peace before the Lord when the old self is crucified at the altar outside. We find rest from our own works. When we are active ourselves, we take the place of the Lord.

We must refrain not only from outward activity, but also from inward activity. The inner anxieties of the people of Israel in the wilderness gave rise to the grumbling that disqualified them from entering the Promised Land.

Let’s practise this week entering into the Lord’s peace and listening to his voice!