Listen to the Voice of God, Not the Voices of Doubt
By Rick Warren
“It was by faith that Noah heard God’s warnings about things he could not yet see.” Hebrews 11:7 (NCV)
Voices of doubt will try to dissuade, detour, and derail you from you purpose in life. But you must listen to the voice of God, not the voices of doubt.
Imagine Noah’s life—building a battleship-sized ark in his front yard while everyone else carried on with their lives. His neighbors must have thought he was crazy. “What’s this guy doing? Building the Queen Mary in his yard? Where’s the homeowner’s association?”
Even Noah’s family probably questioned him.
His sons might have said, “Dad, the ark is embarrassing. Why can’t you get a normal job? Everyone’s laughing at us!”
Could you endure that kind of ridicule? Noah did, for decades, with no encouragement. But he listened to God, not the doubters.
Dream busters will always show up in your life. Critics, cynics, and even loved ones may question your God-given vision. Often, they’re wrong.
But the biggest dream buster is often yourself. The words you speak to yourself matter. If you talked to your friends the way you talk to yourself—saying things like, “I’m no good,” “I should’ve known better,” or “I’ll never succeed”—you wouldn’t have any friends.
The truth is, we lie to ourselves all the time. The Bible says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT). We convince ourselves things are fine when they’re not, or hopeless when they’re not. That’s why you must listen to God—because he always tells the truth.
Hebrews 11:7 says, “It was by faith that Noah heard God’s warnings about things he could not yet see” (NCV).
Notice the word “heard.” Noah trusted what he heard from God, even though he couldn’t see the future. Similarly, you can’t see your future, but you must trust God. His Word is your guide. Faith is believing in what you can’t see—your destiny and your eternal future.
The Bible says, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT).
Focus on what lasts forever, not on temporary troubles. Noah’s faith was counter-cultural, standing against the disbelief around him. How did he maintain such faith? He heard God.
You might say, “I don’t hear God!” The solution? Get closer to him.
The Bible says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV). Turn off distractions. Sit quietly. Pray.
Only when you draw near to God can you truly hear his voice. Listen, and follow him. “Noah . . . walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9 NIV).
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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