Pleasing God

So why is it important that we hear from God? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Or in the Passion Translation it says, “Faith, then, is birthed in a heart that responds to God’s anointed utterance of the Anointed One.” I like the word “utterance” in that verse. The word of God being spoken of is not the written word of God (logos), but it is the spoken word of God (rhēma).

Hearing from God fuels our faith so we can act in obedience to God and receive God results in our lives. Faith is an important aspect of our relationship with God because Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.”

Hearing from God enables us to have the faith we need to act in obedience to His word and in turn do what pleases God. When we started this series, we talked about how Jesus likened us to sheep in John 10: 27 which says, “My own sheep will hear my voice and I know each one, and they will follow me.”  

Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and He knows them and they follow Him. So, there are a few things happening there. First Jesus must speak something for the sheep to hear. Then the sheep’s little ears perk up as they hear. Jesus looks around and identifies them as His sheep because He knows them, and He waits. Then the sheep respond to His voice and they follow Him. Following Jesus is an act of obedience to His voice, but we can’t do that without faith and we can’t have faith if we don’t first hear His voice speaking to us.

Whatever we do of our own accord and out of our own human desires will get us in trouble. As sheep that belong to the Good Shepherd, we are to wait for Him to speak. When He speaks and we hear His voice, our faith comes alive and that faith will move us into the action of obedience. Whenever we are unsure, the Holy Spirit swoops in with an unshakeable peace that says, “It’s ok, you are hearing from Me. You can follow Me.”

God speaks in different ways and through human beings or directly to our spirit. It is very rare that people hear the audible voice of God. What I want you to realise though is that hearing from God does not take away the need to read the word of God. Some of my deepest revelations from God come from reading the Bible and the Holy Spirit points something out to me that I never saw. A word or a phrase. Like in our verse today, He pointed out the word “utterance” because, I will be honest, I had forgotten that, “hearing comes from the word of God” referred to the rhēma word of God and not logos.

So, the Holy Spirit not only speaks to us, He also reminds us of things that we have forgotten and He helps us to do what we need to do. Today I needed to act in obedience to God and write this post to you. But in order for me to do that I had to hear a word from God and the word I heard was our verse today. And God then guided me through that verse to write what He wants to speak to you. So, obedience isn’t always scary and wild. It is in the simple and normal everyday things that bring a smile to our Papa God’s face.

I hope this series has been a blessing to you.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.