Wherever I turn, everyone seems to be telling me what to do. There are just too many voices swirling around in my two ears. Unfortunately, these voices never seem to agree. There’s got to be a better option. I need to hear God’s voice regarding my life.

When we listen for God’s voice, we have the option of following him. But when we fill our hearing with lots of noise, our ears are too full and filter out the voice of God. To hear God’s voice more effectively, I believe there are three things we must do.
First, increase our exposure to God’s voice. Make reading and meditation of God’s Word a regular practice for everyone in the home including the smallest children. If they do not read yet, read the Bible to them. When they are just learning to read, have them read the first verse of the chapter, and you read the rest of the chapter to them.
Fill your home with music that exalts God and his ways. Set the tone in the home with music and praise to our God. Be jealous for God and don’t allow other voices to have more importance.
Second, develop a mindset of obedience. Make it firm in your mind that you are a man of God, that you are a woman of God. Once that identity is firmly set in your mind, you will be more apt to have a mind of obedience. Sure we have our freedom and independence as human beings. But we choose to obey because God is our everything.
Third, be intentional about obedience. One step toward this is to begin a simple process of daily writing down something that impacted you during your daily reading of the Bible. Write down even a sentence that you feel God has spoken to you. In the midst of your struggles, it may be something related to what you are facing. Just the process of recording your interaction with the word of God will greatly impact your thinking. Write that down on a small card and keep it in your pocket so you can look at it throughout the day. Put in in your phone as a constant reminder.
Once you begin doing these things on a regular basis, God will begin to impact your thinking, your behavior, and your responses. The environment in your home will begin to shift focus.
The people of God were struggling to build the temple. It was left unfinished for a long time. But God wanted them to listen to His voice. He said if they would listen for His voice, He will bring people to help them build. But the key was listening and obeying God’s voice.
Listen for the voice of the Lord. He will bring you help to move forward. (Zech 6:15)
—Leave your response in the comments section of this blog post.
 

Me? A people pleaser? Not me! I’ve always felt confident about myself. It’s been a set of principles that guided and helped me to make decisions thus far. Of course I’ve always believed that it was by God’s hand that I’ve been able to do anything at all.
The symptoms
But I’ve always lived with a sense of being watched and evaluated by someone. Every decision I made was questioned in the back of mind. Within seconds, I’m imagining those around me questioning me about that particular decision. After that, I’m conjuring up all the ways I would explain myself.
The problem
I never felt anyone trusted my ability to make decisions. I feared rejection by everyone who would be affected by my decisions. The result was delayed decisions and simply undecided behavior. There was fear, and a lack of trust in myself. This was shrouded with a desire to please everyone.
The causes
One of the reasons for such things developing in me is due to my Amiable personality. It’s a good trait to have with a desire to be friendly and accommodating. But when coupled with self – doubt, it’s a road trip to disaster. You end up with an emotional gridlock that blocks everything you do.
The solution
The most important step is to see yourself as God sees you. I have list of ways God sees us in a previous post called A Life of Rejection
Of course those are things you are already aware of. But it’s time to apply these thoughts to yourself. Personalize it by putting your name with each of the ways God sees us. Allow God’s perspective to permeate our heart. Let that be the beginning of the road to replacing your self condemning perspective with God’s view of you.
The future
Let this be a beginning. It’s an important step towards freedom. For those who relate with such struggles, you know that this will not be an overnight change. It will be a gradual process of transformation.
It requires courage to step out into unchartered territory. You will feel out of place, like you are not to be like this. It will be a constant battle with fear and other inhibiting perspectives. The struggle will be worth the effort.
Take the step toward being free.
Your thoughts?
Please share your response in the comments section of this blog post directly on the website.

“Hey look, I want to live for God, but something keeps pulling me back. When I take one step forward, I’m pulled back two steps.” These words were from a young man I reached out to while pastoring in Sunrise, Florida.
The Will is Weakened
He had lived a life of sin and went away from God for so long that it seemed impossible for him to take a firm step. He wanted to follow Jesus, but he just couldn’t overcome the force pulling him back.
Repeated falling away from God’s ways puts a person on a steep path toward more sin. It’s some sort of spiritual bondage that seems impossible to break. The person’s will is weakened and cannot take a firm step in the right direction.
Spiritual Bondage
The book of Hosea says that these people experience a “spirit of whoredom” that keeps people bound and pulls them away from God (Hos 5:4).This “spirit” keeps the person going in the opposite direction when God’s Spirit calls them. The person may have the desire, but it will seem like an impossible task to turn to God.
How can we help such a person? Maybe you are in such a trap and need to be free.
 

Steps to Freedom

Ownership
Take ownership of all your sinful actions. Acknowledge you have sinned and done what is against God and his word. This opens up the channel for the Holy Spirit to begin his work in your life. Until you acknowledge and take ownership of your sinful behavior, there is little hope of freedom.
Confession
Confess every sin to God. Tell him you are sorry for your sins. Ask him for forgiveness. He will wash you clean with the power of the cross through the blood of Jesus. Then by faith, receive the forgiveness he gives you.
Decision
By an act of your will, decide to walk away from sinful behaviors. Note that our first two steps honestly and earnestly taken before God will begin to break the bondages in your life. This important step toward freedom will allow you to make such an important decision. It’s a 360 degree turn away from your old lifestyle to God’s ways.
Reminder
Write down this decision and keep it in a prominent place as a “milestone,” a constant reminder. You may want to keep it on your desk, wallet, or phone. Find a place where you will repeatedly look throughout the day. The old desires will continue to haunt you, but remember to yield to God’s Spirit and to his promptings.
I wish you well on your way toward freedom from everything that holds you back.
Your thoughts?
I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment directly on the blog post.