Our grief journey has taken us through the ‘shadow of the valley of death’ and a few ‘slough of despond’ trials as well, and I can honestly say we wouldn’t have made it this far without some significant help along the way. From the Word of God to sacred songs to Christian commentaries and to secular writings, one thing has remained steady: REVELATION!
Truth, insight, comfort and healing have been the dividend on our investment of time and effort in our studies. Below are but a few of the resources we’ve used over the years to feed our heart, mind and soul to help us find the gift of “Tuning in to the Voice of God.”
I highly recommend you read / listen / watch and… learn.
While I (Mark) have many, many “favorites” from this amazing vocal group, there is one particular song that most deeply resonates with my spirit of seeking God and hearing His voice. Watch and listen as Katie Jefferies-Harris and the VOCES8 ensemble render a most wonder but simple message of Faith, Hope and Love.
VOCES8: Find Our Way – Kelly Lee Owens & Sebastian Plano arr. Jim Clements – YouTube
This is my all-time favorite Christian singing group (family) and I can tell you they have been instrumental in my faith and learning to ‘Tune-In’ to God’s voice. This is the song that started it all for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBFWThI0_mw
Produced in 1997, Michael Card gave the world a brilliant musical work titled Unveiled Hope. In one of his most ambitious recordings ever, Michael Card sets to music the themes of the book of Revelation as only he can. Michael
This body of work provided a true balm of healing for both Linda and me as we began our grief journey of travel through the ‘Valley of the Shadow of Death’ and the ‘Slough of Despond’ when Adam died in 1997.
The Holy Bible
I (Mark) reference many scriptures in my testimony of how I learned to “Tune In To The Voice Of God” in my search for answers and meaning. Certainly not an exhaustive list, these scriptures will help to guide you into my heart and mind through God’s Word as I leaned into His presence through His Word and discovered how to better ‘Hear’ God’s Voice in my life.
Henry Blackaby – Experiencing God
Since its release in 1990, God has used this book to change millions of lives and thousands of churches around the world. Ten years after its release, more than three million copies of the workbook had been distributed. The workbook has now been published in 47 languages and has been used in almost every denomination. I am amazed that God, in His mercy and grace, used such a modest work by ordinary people!
Henry Blackaby – Hearing God’s Voice
Based on classic Experiencing God principles, Hearing God’s Voice is for those who are ready to listen. Beloved author Henry Blackaby and his son Richard help those who are listening to discern the voice of God, to identify ways He speaks, and to respond to revelations of His will.
God speaks to individuals in ways that are personal and unique to each person. God will never say anything that contravenes what He has said in the Bible. After you learn to listen to God, hearing from God will be as natural as communicating with a close friend.
Randy Alcorn – Heaven
What is Heaven really going to be like? What will we look like? What will we do? Won’t Heaven get boring after a while?
We all have questions about what Heaven will be like, and after 25 years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn has the answers.
Terry Hershey is an author, humorist, inspirational speaker, dad, ordained minister, golf addict, and smitten by French wine. He divides his time between designing sanctuary gardens and sharing his practice of “pausing” and “sanctuary,” to help us do less and live more. Terry’s book, The Power of Pause, offers the permission to slow down and to be gentle with ourselves, in a world that demands More-Bigger-Faster. This book gave me great insights to God’s urging to “Be still and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10
People who love this world, people who pay attention, are gardeners, whether or not they have ever picked up a trowel. Because gardening is not just about digging. Gardening is about cherishing. And to cherish, one must be present. Here. Now.
–open our heart to the rhythms of the garden.
–embrace the demanding marriage of loving and losing.
–cultivate appreciation for ordinary gifts of grace, the value of solitude, and the healing power of nature.
–nurture our soul and renew our sense of life’s fullness.
John Burke is the founder and lead pastor at Gateway Church, a multi-site church based in Austin, Texas that has grown to over 4500 people, the majority who started following Christ at Gateway. John is a bestselling author and his Imagine Heaven, he compares over 100 gripping stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) to what Scripture says about our biggest questions of Heaven: Will I be myself? Will I see friends and loved ones?… read more at John’s website: http://www.johnburkeonline.com/books/
Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. One church with seven locations. NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations and meets in theaters throughout the DC metro area. NCC also owns and operates the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. Mark holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University and is the New York Times bestselling author of 11 books.
Rick Warren is often called “”America’s most influential spiritual leader.”” He and his wife, Kay, founded Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, which is now one of the largest and best-known churches in the world. He also wrote the #1 all-time bestselling hardcover book, The Purpose Driven Life.
John Stephen Piper is an American Reformed Baptist continuationist pastor and author who is the founder and leader of www.desiringGod.org and is the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Shawn Achor is a psychology professor at Harvard University and researches on the functioning of the brain and mind. This is a revolutionary book of insight into how we all think, feel and dare I say “Tune In” to God’s Voice. Although a secular book, through science it does reveal some truths of Scripture, most notably “…[we are] fearfully and wonderfully made…” – Psalm 139:14 Here is Shawn’s Ted-X talk on the Happiness Advantage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXy__kBVq1M
“Hearing” The Voice of God in Holy Scripture…
“The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.”
Psalm 29:4, 7 (NIV)
“The LORD thundered from Heaven; his mighty voice thundering from the sky.”
II Samuel 22:14 (NIV)
“Because you are His sons (and daughters), God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Holy Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 (NIV)
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; He saved me from all my troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
Psalm 34: 4, 6, 18 (NIV)
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:6 (NIV)
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…”
James 4:8 (NIV)
“God does speak — sometimes one way and sometimes another — even though people may not understand it”
Job 33:14 (NCV)
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 8:8 (NIV)
James writes, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
James 5:14-16
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
John 14:12-14 NIV
Quotes from others…
“God wants us to hear what He’s saying, and we must heed His voice.
But much more than that, He wants us to hear His heart. So He whispers softer and softer so that we have to get closer and closer. And when we finally get close enough, He envelops us in His arms and tells us that He loves us.
– Mark Batterson (Whisper: How to hear the voice of God.)
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“God speaks to us in many ways that include but are not limited to: His Word, nature, people, circumstances, peace, wisdom, supernatural intervention, dreams, visions, and what some call the ‘inner witness,’ which is best described as a ‘knowing deep’ inside our hearts. He also speaks in what the Bible calls a ‘still, small voice,’ which I believe also refers to the inner witness.
– Joyce Meyer
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“Miracles do not in fact break the laws of nature.”
– C.S. Lewis
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“It is impossible on reasonable grounds to disbelieve miracles.”
– Blaise Pascal
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“The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.”
– G.K. Chesterton
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“The believers in miracles accept them (rightly or wrongly) because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them (rightly or wrongly) because they have a doctrine against them.”
– G.K. Chesterton
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“…much of what God does in the world is hidden from us. Think, for example, of the work He has given His angels to do on our behalf. The Bible says, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).“
“There is a language in nature that speaks of the existence of God. It is the language of order, beauty, perfection and intelligence.
“God speaks in the certainty and regularity of the seasons; in the precision of the movements of the sun, the moon, and the stars; in the regular coming of night and day; in the balance between man’s consumption of life-giving oxygen and its production by the plant life of the Earth; and even in the cry of a newborn child with its ever new demonstration of the miracle of life.”
From “The Faithful Christian,” a collection of Graham’s writings.
– Billy Graham
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“A miracle is an extraordinary event wrought by God through human agency, an event that cannot be explained by natural forces. Miracles are always designed to authenticate the human instrument God has chosen to declare a specific revelation to those who witness the miracle.”
– John MacArthur
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“Faith opens the door to miracles. If you study the Bible and history, you find that every time God moves on Earth and does a miracle, it’s because somebody believed. God has set up the universe in a hierarchy of laws, and the law of faith is actually a higher law than the laws of nature. That’s where miracles come in. Because when faith is used, the law of faith goes into practice, and the law of faith can actually do more than the laws of physics. Does God still perform miracles today? Of course he does. Every time you stretch your faith, God does miracles — every single time. Faith opens the door to miracles.”
– Rick Warren
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And here’s more from Rick Warren…
“A lot of us think we’re too busy to listen for God’s response. But we have to take the time to tune in and listen, because God is speaking. Job 33:14 says, “God does speak — sometimes one way and sometimes another — even though people may not understand it” (NCV).
“The question is, “How do I understand it? How do I tune in so that I can hear God’s voice?”
Here are four of the channels that God uses:
1. God speaks to us through the Bible.
It’s your guidebook for life. It shows you the right step to take. That is why you need to read God’s Word every day. If you’re not having a daily quiet time and reading the Bible, God is getting a busy signal when he wants to speak to you. You have to keep a constant connection, because God’s will is found in God’s Word.
2. God speaks to us through teachers.
Have you ever been in a church service and felt like the teacher was delivering a direct message from God to you? There’s no way I or any other teacher could figure out exactly what to say to meet every need. But God knows. So before every service I pray, “God, you know the people and the needs out there. Give me the right things to say.” Somehow, in the way only he can, God uses my teaching and the teaching of other pastors to meet the needs of people who are listening.
3. God speaks to us through impressions.
There are two extremes to this. One extreme is the rationalist who believes no impression can be from God; it all has to be logical. At the other extreme is the mystical belief that every impression is from God. You need to get in the middle and realize that for an impression to be from God, it has to match God’s Word.
4. God speaks to us through our circumstances.
If you’re going to live a life of significance, God has to make constant course corrections, and one way he does that is through the circumstances that come into your life.
When you start to listen to God through circumstances, impressions, teachers, or the Bible, sometimes he’s going to lead you in ways that you don’t understand.
Hang in there! Following God is not always easy, but it will reap more blessing in your life than you can imagine.”
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