AMONG US

When we’re listening for God’s voice, we’re often seeking specific direction for a particular issue in our lives.

There’s nothing wrong with that; God is intimately aware of and deeply concerned about every aspect of our existence. His conversations with us can get very personal.

But we also face the danger of becoming so inwardly focused, so self-absorbed in our talks with Him, that we forget His overall purposes.

We’re so busy talking about the things at the forefront of our minds that we neglect what’s on the forefront of His mind.

When Jesus walked among us, He spent His time teaching about the Kingdom of God—not the Kingdom as we often define it (a spiritual-only approach or an evangelism-only emphasis), but the Kingdom as He defines it: God’s rule and reign in every area of life.

Jesus demonstrated the Kingdom by healing people of every kind of disease because the disease is not a characteristic of the Kingdom. He taught us how to relate to God because knowing Him is what the Kingdom is all about.

In thought, word, and works, the Kingdom was among us. It only makes sense, then, that as we listen for God’s voice, we can expect to hear Kingdom values and purposes. The King is still among us, teaching us and healing us, and leading us into the blessings of His realm.

Yes, this applies to the details of our day and the personal crises we face, but it’s also bigger than that.

When we hear God’s voice, we should assume that whatever He says is part of a greater picture. He is leading us through the day, but He is also leading us into a significant destiny—probably more significant than we realize.

We have to tune our ears to the big vision and let His words draw us forward into all that a Kingdom citizen is meant to experience.

Jesus, tell me great and glorious things I do not know. Give me a vision that’s bigger than my own life. Lead me into the fullness of Your Kingdom.