Have you ever had trouble hearing God’s voice? If we are honest, we all have experienced that at times. Or perhaps we believed he had spoken something to us in the past, and now we are facing doubts that it was really him speaking. It is not uncommon for Christians to struggle with doubt and discouragement in this area. We so desperately want to hear him, and believe he is truly guiding us each step of the way. We are exercising great faith each and every day as we trust in a God whom we cannot see, and there are seasons in our lives that our faith can seem so small and we find ourselves unsure of our relationship with our heavenly father. Dry seasons are expected to come. We won’t always remain on the top of the mountain, and if we are not careful we may succumb to that feeling and quit growing and moving forward.
You should know this truth: God is the same God no matter what season you are in; and he always desires to speak to his children. The challenge is that you can’t hear God when your mind is crowded with thoughts, worries, fears, and plans; or if you always have the radio or TV on. If you constantly have your phone against your ear when God calls and all he gets is a busy signal, you are most likely in the midst of a lot of distractions. Often we confuse busyness with productivity, and they aren’t the same thing. If you keep going and going but you aren’t spiritually growing, you are busy- not productive.
The Bible teaches that distractions are like weeds that grow up in your mind and heart, just as weeds grow in a garden.
Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it (Luke 8:7)
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:14 )
How much effort does it take to grow weeds? Well...None. Weeds are actually a sign of a neglected area. When you neglect your time with God, the weeds start to grow in your life. Luke says that life’s worries, riches, and pleasures can be those weeds. Yes - pleasures! Weeds can appear to be quite beautiful, as in the picture above. Those distractions in your life can be fun with friends, or even another ministry work for God! But as much fun as this distraction is, or as much as you may be doing a work "for God", if you are not hearing him or growing in him, this activity is a weed. In order to remove your weeds, you must learn to slow down your busy mind and remove distractions. When God spoke to Elijah, it wasn’t in a wind or earthquake or fire, it was in a gentle whisper. If you want to hear God speak to you, you have to be quiet. Be still before him. Slow down and ask him to reveal anything in your life that is distracting you from being able to hear his voice. God probably doesn't want to have to compete for your attention. He is with you this very moment wanting to have intimate fellowship with you. But YOU need to be the one to pull those weeds!!
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