Latest / The Whole Hearted Woman / Episode 8: The Voice of Love

Transcript

Episode 8: The Voice of Love · The Whole Hearted Woman

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome back to the Wholehearted Woman Podcast.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Chris Ray, and this is your heart room, a place where we slow down long enough to discover that God is often speaking more than we even realize.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Last week we began talking about something deeply personal.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about the voices that shape our hearts, the voices that tell us we're not enough, that tell us to hide, to perform, to earn love, to keep striving.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And we ended with one question.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: If those voices aren't Jesus, then how do we recognize his voice?
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's one of the most beautiful questions a believer can ask.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because healing isn't simply learning to recognize the lie, healing is learning to recognize the shepherd.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Let's dig in.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: When I first gave my life to Christ, I honestly didn't know what to expect.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: I knew I had met Jesus.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: I knew something had changed, but I had no idea what a relationship with him actually looked like.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then something happened that changed my life forever.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: One morning, somewhere between sleeping and waking, I heard these exact words.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: As clearly as I've heard anything in my life.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: The words were expect the extraordinary.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I sat straight up in bed, I wasn't trying to hear God.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't asking for an experience.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't searching for some mystical moment.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: I simply heard those words.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: And those words didn't come from me.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: They carried life, hope, joy.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was like an invitation.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: It awakened something inside me.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And looking back now, I realized Jesus wasn't simply speaking words, he was introducing himself.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things I've learned over the years is that God doesn't speak because he wants to impress us, he wants us to know him.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we become so fascinated with hearing God's voice that we forget why he speaks.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think the reason is if you just boil it all down, he speaks because he is a father, a shepherd, a friend, a bridegroom.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Relationship is always his goal, not information.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus said in John 10, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Notice what he didn't say.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't say, My smartest sheep, my most mature sheep, my perfect sheep.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: He simply said, My sheep.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Hearing his voice begins with belonging to him, not performing for him.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: As the weeks went by, I began spending time with him every day.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'd simply sit quietly, sometimes I'd journal.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: At first I thought I was only writing my own thoughts.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: But somewhere in the middle of writing, something beautiful would happen.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: An answer would come, a scripture would come alive, a thought would appear that was wiser than anything I could have ever thought or written on my own.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was as though Jesus was gently entering the conversation, not taking over and not forcing himself, just simply speaking patiently, lovingly.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: And over time I realized the shepherd delights in speaking to his sheep.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: What a treasure that is.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I also noticed something else.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Songs suddenly would become different.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: There were songs and lyrics I had heard for years and didn't really pay much attention to.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: It was just background music that always was on radios or while you're waiting for a doctor.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly, now it became alive.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I would look up the lyrics and I would look at the meaning of them and oh my gosh, he was speaking to me.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'd be driving and a verse would come to mind.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'd walk outside and notice creation in a way I had never had seen before.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: The whole world seemed to whisper, I'm here.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't becoming mystical.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was becoming aware.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you something that took me years to understand?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, God's voice doesn't compete with all the other voices.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: It invites.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The enemy shouts, fear rushes us, shame accuses us, condemnation demands.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: But the shepherd, he leads, he calls, he waits, he invites.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: His voice carries peace even when he is correcting us.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: I've often been asked, how do I know if it's God speaking?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a wonderful question.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And while I don't think there's a simple formula, I have noticed something over the years that I can share from my experience.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: His voice always sounds like him.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: His voice always agrees with Scripture.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: His voice never contradicts his character.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: He convicts, but he doesn't condemn.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: He corrects, but he doesn't shame.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: He leads, but he doesn't manipulate.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: He invites, but he doesn't force.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: He's gentle.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: He speaks truth.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And he's always speaking it in love.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes we make hearing God so much more complicated than he intends.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: We ask, what if I miss him?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: What if I get it wrong?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: What if I don't hear him?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: My friend, do you think the good shepherd is playing hide and seek with his sheep?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think he is far more committed to making himself known than we are to hearing him.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: The question isn't whether he desires to speak, the question is whether we're learning to recognize his voice.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And like every relationship, recognition grows through time together.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I love the image of the shepherd.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: A sheep doesn't recognize the shepherd's voice because it took a seminar.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: It recognizes his voice because it has walked with him day after day, moment after moment.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Love creates familiarity.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the more I've come to know Jesus, the more another voice becomes quieter.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: The voice that had told me I wasn't enough.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: The voice that had told me I had to earn love.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: The voice that whispered shame.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not because I argued with it, but because I had begun listening to someone else.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Every wound has a voice, but Jesus has a voice too.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And the more familiar his voice becomes, the less authority the others have.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe today you've been wondering if God still speaks.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: I believe he does, and I know he does.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not always in dramatic ways.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's through scripture or through prayer or through a friend or through worship.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's the quiet impressions that are completely consistent with his word and character, or it's a knowing in your spirit.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: But always it draws us closer.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: It never pushes us away.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd love for you to join me this week, and I'd like for you to do something simple.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Don't begin by asking, Lord, speak louder.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, ask, Lord, help me recognize the voice you've already been speaking to me with.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Then open your Bible, sit quietly, or write in your journal, and listen.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Not for spectacular experiences, but for the shepherd.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because he delights in making himself known.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'd love to end in prayer.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you for being a God who speaks.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you that you are not distant, silent, or uninterested in your children.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you that you are the good shepherd who knows each of us by name.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, there are so many voices competing for our attention, voices of fear, shame, performance, disappointment, regrets.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Teach us to recognize your voice above every other.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Give us hearts that are quiet enough to listen and minds that are renewed by your truth, and spirits that are sensitive to your leading.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Help us grow so familiar with your character that when you speak, we recognize the one who loves us immediately.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for always leading us toward life, toward truth, toward freedom, toward yourself.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Next week we're going to take another step on this journey.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked about the voices that shape us.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked about learning the voice of the shepherd.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're going to ask a very practical question.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: How do we actually begin living from this new identity every single day?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because hearing his voice changes everything, but learning to live from what he says, that's where true transformation begins.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if today's episode encouraged you, I'd love to invite you to continue the journey with me.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Visit HearttoHeartministry.com where you'll find additional resources, blog posts, and you can download a free chapter of my book, Heartfully Alive, and continue the conversation with me in the Wholehearted Woman community on Facebook.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can find me on Facebook at The Wholehearted Woman, where I share daily encouragement scripture and conversations that help you continue your journey toward wholehearted living.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to connect with you there.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: And most of all, if this episode blessed you, would you share it with someone who needs hope today?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you can also follow the podcast, leave a review, or contact me if you have any questions or need prayer.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: So until next time, remember this you are known, you are deeply loved, and healing is possible.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: And always remember the shepherd who calls you by name is still speaking.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I love you.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you next week.