It’s possible to hear God when discerning the steps of resolving issues you face.
And there’s a huge benefit — you live as an overcomer!
Next Level
Last week I wrote about how to hear God’s voice as we journal. Having this daily practice helps us live in a peacethat supersedes any situation we are facing. It enables us to face life from a place of rest and to be encouraged in faith and hope.
However, there’s a next level to hearing God:
- You can journal to hear God’s voice for the steps of issue resolution.
The Problem of the Judgment Wall
The majority of unresolved issues in our life is due to judgments. I so often find Christians stuck, instead of overcoming. Most of the time they don’t even realize they are living behind “the judgment wall.” What do I mean by “the judgment wall?”
Here’s an example: You feel threatened emotionally. Maybe your spouse rejects you or a coworker is crossing your boundaries, and you’re afraid of the confrontation you need to have with them. So instead of taking action, you put up a wall around your heart.
Wall Definition
So what do we mean when we say we have “a wall” around our hearts? What does that look like?
A wall around our hearts is typically a defense mechanism:
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Judgements we are making.
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Ways we find faults with others.
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Operating in blame rather than personal responsibility for our feelings.
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Fight or Flight – demeaning, sarcastic remarks or the silent treatment.
All of these behaviors indicate a wall is up.
The key is, first of all, to not feel condemned if we notice this. We all feel vulnerable at times and put a wall up. It’s like the verse that says to “be angry and sin not.” (Eph. 4:26) In other words, it’s not that important that we find this response in our hearts, but what do we do with it? If we are secure in the Father’s love, it will be much easier to pray through what’s happening in our hearts rather than to judge ourselves.
Praying Through
The next level of hearing God is beyond just getting direction, comfort or encouragement; it’s praying through these heart issues. So now we are not simply journaling the words of love we hear Him say to us, but we are asking Him to help us sort through our hearts. (Ps. 139:23)
God, why am I putting up these wall?
What am I afraid of? What don’t I want to face?
Three Keys for Success in Hearing God’s Voice
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Seek to stay objective, open to considering God’s view, the other person’s view, and scenarios we may not have considered.
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Look for the underlying issue in our hearts and don’t try to simply force ourselves into good behavior.
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Try to arrive at seeing things through God’s eyes, the eyes of love. Seek to walk in empathy toward ourselves and toward the other person.
Go ahead, give it a try. Got any issues that need to be resolved? Most of us do.
God desires for you to be an overcomer — for you to be able to hear His voice not only for guidance and daily orders, but also for dealing with those difficult patterns and conflicts in your life. He has all the solutions.
And if you get stuck in any of these steps, please let us know. We would be happy to give you some support.