HEARING & KNOWING
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, "go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."(1Kings 18:43 NKJ)
I think that we can all agree that it is important to hear what God has to say. There are lots of books written about hearing God, and the ones’ I have read were very good. For some, it is a revelation in itself that we can expect to hear God. The fact is, everyone can hear God and everyone has at one time or another. I believe that little thing we call a conscience, is the first little bit of God’s voice that we all hear throughout our lives.
For now, I want to just assume that we all know God does speak to those who listen as well as those who do not. And anyone who really wants to hear the direction of the Lord can seek God for wisdom and God will guide them. The big question that then comes from a multitude of directions is, “how do you know it is God?” The answer to that could range from a simple sentence to a novel sized book. Like anything else that we know, we learn from experience. We listen and we see that God does what He says. We think we hear and sometimes we don’t, and other times we think we didn’t and come to find out we did!
We all need to press toward that place where we know what we hear. In this passage of scripture, Elijah has heard God. In turn He told the king what he heard. Then he removed himself from the crowds and went up to the top of the mountain. Sometimes, the greatest resistance to what we hear comes from people around us. Sometimes extra counselors provide wisdom, and sometimes they provide doubt. We have to learn in each situation what is best.
Elijah not only got away from people, but he also bowed His head so that he could not be influenced by what he saw. Six times his servant came with a bad report, and seven times Elijah sent him back. He was sure of what he heard. Well, the seventh time there was that little cloud and Elijah jumped into action. He sent his servant to tell the king the rain was coming. Oh sure, from that little cloud! Suddenly that little cloud turned the whole sky black and well, if you have never read the story, it is worth checking out.
There has only been one man who heard God perfectly all the time, and that man was the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ. If anyone else says that they hear Him perfectly all the time, they are deceiving themselves and others. Still, hearing God and knowing that it is God you have heard is a gift worth the effort of perfecting.
We need to converse with a person in order to recognize their voice. That is talking and listening. We need to ask in order get answers, and we need respond in order to see God do what He says. The more we listen, the more we hear. The more we respond and act, the more we see the fulfillment of His word. The more this happens the more confidence we have.
Sometimes we will need to bow our heads and refuse to allow anything else to influence us, and then when His word is confirmed react as Elijah Did. We need to hear, and we need to know that we hear so that we will act in faith.