Know His Voice, and Act on It.

Businesses and organizations spend considerable time creating a mission statement. A good mission statement will precisely and concisely relay values and direction for the company and will make it easy to evaluate whether or not the company is on target. How many of us, as individuals take time to write a personal mission statement?

Our theme this week is brought to us by Joyce Lighari. Joyce, our Tuesday writer, is the last of the original Kingdom Bloggers and this week we say good-bye to her. We’re sorry to have her go but we welcome Kerry Luddy (Saturday’s writer) to move into the gap left by Joyce.

To our readers who’ve been reading this blog, we thank you for your continued support but know our mission statement hasn’t changed. (Do you see how I slipped our theme in there? Nicely done, don’t you think?)

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To know God’s voice, and act on it.

I’ve been pursuing God for the better part of two decades. Like ride lines at Disneyland, it’s never-ending and when you think the end is around the corner, when you arrive, you realize it’s another woven trail. It’s a life-long pursuit. Jesus said his sheep know his voice and they follow him. It’s a greater calling than to know he speaks (although many don’t even know that). I can be in tens of kids and their mothers, and when my Boy called, “Mom,” I know he’s talking to me; I recognize his voice. I want to know God’s voice to the same degree.

It doesn’t just happen, not in the way I want. The Hebrew word for ‘know’ is yada and denotes a carnal knowledge that bears fruit. Intimacy takes work, effort and personal investment. It’s my personal mission, so with that in mind, I make choices to eliminate blockers – from things like the movies/TV I watch or music I listen to. Unforgiveness, hardness of heart and the need to control are also blockers. I am quick to seek and offer forgiveness; I keep asking questions to remain teachable and I purposefully let others lead. True strength is not controlling everything but knowing just because I can, does not mean I have to.

The second part is acting on what I hear. Many people hear God’s voice but they don’t do anything about it. I love adventure and there is nothing more adventurous than walking on water, like Peter, or transporting to another location, like Philip. If we don’t act on his voice, first we become demoted back down to servant (John 15) and eventually we stop hearing his voice completely, like what happened to King Saul.

My mission statement starts with my basic value that Godi s good and his plan for me is prosperous with a hopeful future. He will never lead me astray. His voice, instruction and ways always lead to life – for myself, and for others. If I know his voice and act on it, everything else is taken care of.