By Grace Through Faith

I have been learning much about the importance of obedience. Obedience can be challenging when it may not be the way that you want to personally be living your life in whatever season you find yourself in. However, when we follow God’s direction and step into obedience, He begins to reveal Himself more and more to us.

The past month, I have been so in awe of God and the way He has been speaking to me. I started writing down the specific moments or taking pictures of the books I am reading or podcasts that I am listening to when it mentions a piece of scripture or topic I am currently learning about in a different setting of my life.

For example, I have been going through several of the Psalms with a women’s study at church since August. Since going through this study, I have been reading books and listening to podcasts that have mentioned the same Psalms we have been studying.

One particular morning, I went for a walk around my neighborhood after I had just finished reading over Psalm 103 again after learning about it on my Wednesday night class that previous week. I started listening to Jennie Allen’s podcast, “Made for This”, which has focused on the importance of community. I’ve been listening to a few of her episodes that go along with her book, Find Your People, which is the book that I am leading a study on for a college discipleship group. While listening to the episode, she stated that she has been memorizing Psalm 103!!! It was so encouraging and affirming to hear that. Just a sweet reminder that obedience can lead to learning more about God’s character, which can lead to us hearing more of God’s voice clearly in our daily lives.

What’s even more funny to me, is that we’ve been mainly looking at eight different Psalms throughout our women’s study, which there are a total of 150. Out of the 150, God has pointed out a few to me over and over in podcasts that I’ve listened to or books I have found myself reading, which I started spending time in for totally other reasons not related to the Psalms.

Last December, I read Priscilla Shirer’s book, Discerning the Voice of God. She deeply explains how we can recognize the sound of God’s voice the more we spend time in His Word and walk in the ways He has set before us. The Holy Spirit will work in us to guide us and give us discernment in our current life circumstances. She states that the Lord speaks to us persistently and personally. He knows us so well that He knows how to speak to us to grab our attention.

“Your God will speak persistently and personally, with both peace and challenge, in His truth and authority, to enable you to know and experience Him, to be an invited participant in His eternal plans for this age, and to see and feel firsthand the incomparable blessings of obedience.” – Priscilla Shirer

The Lord knows my interests, such as worship music, podcasts, and books. Since He knows me personally, He knows how to speak to me, not just through His Word, but through those sources as well to guide me in my walk when trying to be obedient to His Will.

Walking in obedience can be a challenging season. You have to continue to go against your sinful, human nature, and lean more and more into the Word of God and the ways of righteous living. You have to also come to the Lord with humility that you, yourself, cannot do this alone. And He doesn’t want you to do it alone. He wants to be there with you in this season because He knows that through Him, you can have life and have it abundantly.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. – John 10:10

I pray that the Lord will begin to give you a surrendered heart to Him and His ways. I pray that He will speak to you through His Word and that you can grow to know His character more and more every day. I pray that you have eyes to see and ears to listen to Him as He speaks to you, guides you, and walks with you in every moment and every circumstance.

With love,

Claire