Lenten Reflection #25:Following Jesus

When I think about listen for and seeking God's will for my life, I often think of the old cell phone provider commercials with the guy walking around saying "can you hear me now?"  Sometimes I picture  God saying it and sometimes it is me.
This morning at a devotion time with some other guys we were talking about following the leading of the Holy Spirit and how difficult that can be for us at times.  We wished it was as easy as it sounds.  However, discerning God's leading in decision making can be difficult for us to determine.  There are other voices out there.  There are others things competing to be the leader of our lives.  There are other things that are trying to be number one.
I think that in order for us to be able to discern more easily it helps for us to stay in tune with the Holy Spirit.  We need to constantly be doing those things that are connecting us to God and keeping listening and hearing His voice.  When we are disciplined about reading and meditating on scripture, worship, spending time with other Christians, and praying it get easier to hear God and to make out His voice through all the other voices.  When we allow our lives to be saturated with God's word, prayer, worship and Christ centered fellowship we begin to see what is happening in our lives through the lenses of prayer, worship, and scripture.  Discernment becomes easier as we get closer to God.  As we live in relationship with Christ he transforms and renews us to have a mind like His and heart like His.
The flip side of this is also true. As we fail to do those disciplines that connect us to God the more difficult it gets to discern his voice and the easier it becomes to start to listen to other leading and allow other things to take priority.  Sadly, many times we confuse those other voices for the voice of God because we are not able to discern anymore because we are not in tune with the Spirit.
Following Jesus means that we let him lead.  It means that we must listen and obey.  This requires daily living in His presence practicing Spiritual disciplines that connect us to God.

Jesus says that when he speaks his sheep hear his voice.  It is not "can you hear me now?"  It is, "my sheep know my voice."

We can hear him now.

In Christ's love and mine,
Doug