Know Your God: Resistance to Hearing God’s Voice

The Know Your God series was birthed in January this year when I felt the Spirit of God hovering over these words, “Know your God”. Follow along here as I share revelation + practical ways for you to get caught up in the Romance of God… and fall in love with Him all over again.

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The greatest human needs can be summed up with this one truth: Man was made to walk with God. Every longing you have ever known finds its genesis in this fact.

We were fashioned for oneness and hardwired for intimacy. Our soul knows, in the deepest level of its consciousness, that we were meant to walk and talk with God in the garden as Adam did. We got separated from Him at Eden, and we spend our whole lives searching for a way back into that secret paradise.

We inherited Adam’s broken identity, and we pendulum between doubt and faith. Our phone line to God got a lot more interference than it was meant to. But we have great news: Jesus, the second Adam, has made a way for us back to Eden. In Him we have the promise of the restoration of the full glory that was intended for mankind in the Garden.

Today we will look at some things that commonly interfere/resist our communication with God… and how we can make our way back to Eden.

Resistance #1: Unbelief

Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden. Unhindered, uncovered, unashamed. They walked freely with God, just as they were, fully rested in the fact that God knew them and loved them.

The woman fell when she began to doubt God’s heart for her – the serpent said, “God has been lying to you! He’s holding you back from the good stuff because He wants to control you. He doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Fight for yourself because He’s not going to fight for you.” The woman chose to believe him, letting in fear and doubt that clouded her vision of God.

And we all Eve’s daughters have inherited that same weakness. We question God’s love for us. We wonder if He is real. We carry that sneaking suspicion in our hearts that God doesn’t really care for our well-being. We have learned so well to be self-sufficient that we’ve created a world that doesn’t need God. We get tired of waiting on God so we make do with what we can, thinking that He just doesn’t speak any more. We’ve got real good at making the best life we know how on our own.

Just like Eve took the fruit to get wisdom to be like God, we grab onto whatever can feed the deep hunger in our hearts. And all the while, as God had warned Eve, we are dying inside.

But beloved, it has never been God’s intention to hold back any good thing from Eve or us. All the wisdom and goodness and delights of this world had been prepared for the arrival of Adam & Eve – it was theirs, and ours, for the taking. All God wanted was for them to explore and discover it with Him.

The solution:

God’s solution to our unbelief is simple: Jesus. He said in Mark 6:9, “The work of God is this: To believe in the One He has sent.” Jesus is the light pointing out the path back to the Father’s side, and He is the way by which we get there. We are only able to do the work of God, or to please Him, when we have faith in Jesus (Hebrews 11:6).

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably asking, “Yes I know I need to have faith, but how do I get there?” and to that I’d say that it’s all a journey. Faith and confidence in God grows as we get to know Him and His love for us personally. All it takes is for you to be willing to be willing (not a typo!). We have been given the grace to be able to say like that man in Mark 9:24, “I do (want to) believe; help me overcome my disbelief!”

I promise you that He will, beloved. It might take some time, but He will do it.

 Resistance #2: Unforgiveness / Unresolved Offenses

There will be places in our hearts that God has to heal before we are ready to set off on the road to trusting God. These places of hurt, pain, rejection, bitterness, and offense are like that one really obnoxious relative at family gatherings – loud, ubiquitous, and impossible to get rid of. They are a source of shame, and no matter what we do they just won’t go away. They interrupt any conversation you’re having and demand for your instant attention.

Unforgiveness and unresolved issues in our hearts interrupt our communication with God in that way. They are voices so loud that they’re impossible to ignore. The moment a desire to get close to God is ignited in your heart, they chime in loudly, “Are you sure God wants to talk to the likes of you? You haven’t been praying or reading your Bible, you’re not worthy of His attention. God isn’t interested in you just like your parents were never interested in you. He’s just going to reject you just like everyone else does.” And the litany goes on and on in a never-ending tirade.

Want to begin opening your heart up to the voice of God? Shut off those voices by making sure that all bitterness and unforgiveness is dealt with.

The solution:

1. Carve out a couple of hours to just sit quietly with your journal, Bible, and maybe some soft worship music playing in the background (if it helps).
2. Ask God, “Lord, I want to be free from unforgiveness. Please show me now if there were times that I’ve been hurt, and who I need to forgive.”
3. Focus on Jesus as you wait. A picture might flash across your mind of something that someone said/did to you, or a memory pop up in your heart. It could be something that happened just yesterday, or that took place when you were two. It might be a seemingly insignificant event and you might not feel that it had affected you, but I’ve come to realize that the Holy Spirit knows my heart better than I do and when He reveals something, He’s usually pretty spot on about it.
4. Looking at that picture/memory, tell Jesus how you honestly felt at that time. It’s ok to be totally honest with Him if you felt anger or all other kinds of “sinful” emotions, He can take it, promise.
5. Ask Jesus, “Lord, now please show me where you were in this picture.” Wait on Him and let Him show you where He was & what He was doing when you were going through that trauma/hurtful event. Let His love minister deeply to your soul.
6. Choose to forgive (because forgiveness is a choice) whoever it was that hurt/offended you. Say, “Jesus, I choose to forgive (name of person) for (be specific about what they did and how that made you feel). I release (name of person) into the freedom of my forgiveness, and I ask You to remove all bitterness/unforgiveness that’s in my heart. Heal me and cleanse me from any defilement that might have come through this event.”
7. Take some time to linger in the healing work of His Spirit. When you are ready to move on, repeat steps 2-6 until no more memories come to mind.

Some hurts run deep, and the closer a person is to us the deeper the hurt they inflict. Don’t be surprised if some of the same memories pop up in the days following your “forgiveness cleanse” – you might have to repeat the forgiveness prayer (step 6) many times before the hurt is fully resolved in your heart. It’s like peeling an onion; some have many layers and some only a few, but keep going at it and you’ll reach the heart one day.

 Resistance #3: Demonic Interference

Most of the interferences we encounter can be resolved with inner healing, but there are some that require deliverance. It could be an open door from a covenant that your ancestor made with an idol, or an inner vow you made in a moment of desperation, or maybe something you allowed into your Spirit through your eye gate (be very careful about the things you watch). I won’t go into this point in detail here, but if think that there is some demonic interference in your life, please drop me an email for us to pray through, discern, and talk it over together. I will link you up to trustworthy ministers who specialize in ministering healing & deliverance with the love of God.

Just remember: You are never too lost or too dark for God. He loves you and He will do whatever He can to bring you back to the intimacy and glory of Eden. And when you return, He will run to you and welcome you home with welcome arms.

Beloved, we aren’t the only ones searching for the way back to Paradise. God, the Almighty God Himself, is searching for hearts that He can bring Paradise into. He wants this restoration so much more than we could ever know, and everything He’s done since Genesis has been in preparation of the day that Paradise can come to earth and dwell with man again.

That day is coming soon and when it does this time, it will be here to stay. People get ready.