Proverbs 1:33. but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.
One thing that Proverbs makes very clear is that none of us casually slides into wisdom. We aren’t born wise; we are born simple. Because of indwelling sin, we don’t naturally grow into wisdom; if left to our own devices, we naturally grow up into fools.
Wisdom must be sought after, searched for, and listened to.
In Proverbs 1:33, Wisdom is making a promise – if you listen to me, you will dwell secure and be at ease. Do you want the good life? Listen to me. Do you want dread of disaster? Ignore me. It’s that simple.
Jesus says the same exact thing to us.
John 5:24. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
To listen to Jesus is to listen to our Heavenly Father, our Creator. To listen to Jesus is to have eternal life. His very own divine life. To listen to Jesus is to avoid dread and disaster. The disaster of a life apart from God. To listen to Jesus is find security and ease. Security of soul, and ease of spirit.
Are you actively listening to Jesus? To Wisdom?
If you are like most Christians, then there are two little voices inside your head that you listen to. One is your flesh, and the other is Christ’s Spirit. How do we differentiate these two voices? How can we begin to hear the voice of Jesus that is speaking inside of us?
Obviously the first way is through the spiritual disciplines of scripture reading and prayer. But what about the moment by moment wisdom needed in the daily Christian walk? How do we hear Jesus in the midst of the complexities of life? Great question.
Here’s the thing, because of our union with Christ, Jesus’ voice will sound like YOUR voice. As you grow in grace and in trusting faith in the gospel of grace, your inner voice will be the voice of Christ in you. As faith in Christ becomes more and more your instinctual response, there will be no need to plead for the voice of God, for his voice will be your voice. Your mind will be Christ’s mind. Your affections Christ’s affections. Your words, his words.
Yes, there will always be a voice in you that sounds like indwelling sin, the world, the flesh, even the Devil (just ask Peter). But the voice of Christ in you is now the new normal. The new nature. The new instinct. The deepest part of you – your spirit joined to THE Spirit.
The flesh? Of course it remains. Yes, learn to recognize it. Keep it nailed to the cross. And as you do, as you train yourself to listen to the cadence of the Spirit, the rhythm of his love, the wisdom of the gospel of grace, you will find that hearing the voice of Christ is as close as your own heart and mind.
You: In what ways have you tried to hear the voice of Jesus in the past?
You in Christ: Are you actively listening to Jesus? In what ways?
Christ in you: How can you practice distinguishing between the voice of the flesh and the voice of the Spirit in you? In what ways will they sound different?
Pray: Father, you have placed the voice of Jesus in my mind and heart so that I can always be close to you. Open my ears to hear him by faith and with wisdom. Amen.
To Live is Christ 