Rev. Stewart Speaks- Heeding the Voice of the Lord
By Rev. LaKeya Stewart
FWIS Contributing Writer
Have you ever felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit concerning someone? Maybe you heard of their struggle and the Lord laid it on your heart to pray for them and to bless them with a monetary gift. If I could be honest, I would be quick to pray for others, but slow to give from the fruits of my labor, aka my money. About five years ago, the Lord really began to challenge my thinking through his word. Scriptures like 1 Samuel 15:22 say “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams”. Passages like this remind me of the importance of obedience. Failure to obey the voice of the Lord can have severe consequences. In 1 Samiel 13:13, Samuel said, “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” God took away Saul’s throne and cut his dynasty short (1 Samuel 13:14; 15:28). We see in this scripture what the consequence of failing to obey to the voice of the Lord can yield.
I cannot begin to fathom being rejected by the Lord. That’s just not something that I want to think about, but the reality is when we disobey and intentionally do not take heed to his voice, we are entering a slippery slope of potential rebellion where we may willfully choose not to heed to his voice in other matters.
Have you ever thought twice about eating that fast food yet turn into the drive through line anyway? Perhaps the Lord was speaking to you in that moment reminding you that your body is a temple of the Holy spirit and that you had food at home that was more nutritious that you could eat. Failing to heed the Lord’s voice in that moment could be the beginning to some other acts of disobedience.
I do not write this to beat us down, but rather to encourage us to take heed to the voice of the Lord. The Lord may speak in a still small voice or he may speak through a burning bush, but in either case we must be sensitive and in tune with him to receive his word. The time has come when some of society has turned a deaf ear to the voice of the Lord and our obedience to God sometimes gets put to the side for our personal agendas.
In this season, the Lord is requiring those that believe in him to totally surrender our wills, our desires, and our motives to him. He desires that we fully submit ourselves to be used by him for his service. This takes humility and if we would humble ourselves, the Lord will exalt us in due time, for his name’s sake. It’s not about us, it’s all about Jesus. Be blessed.