Step Two: Listen to the voice of God in every opportunity.

1 Samuel 24:4 “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.

When opportunities come we can assume we know what to do, or we can listen to the voice of God. There will always be at least three voices that speak about every opportunity. Those voices are the voice of God, the voice of others, and the voice of your own reason. Your life will be altered greatly by which voice you listen to when opportunity comes.

David’s friends are telling him, “The Lord says” that he needs to go and kill Saul. I appreciate when God sends people into my life to confirm His word. However, you must always remember that people confirm God’s word but must never be a substitute for hearing God’s voice personally. If what my friends say goes against what the Lord says, then I must let His word outweigh their word. You cannot experience the supernatural favor of God by always doing what seems natural to you and to others. If you want to experience greater things from God you must learn to listen to a greater voice than your own.

The Lord is always whispering His direction to you, but you must realize that He is not the only one whispering. The enemy whispered to Jesus in the wilderness and told Jesus now is your opportunity to turn some stone into bread and meet your own needs. Again the devil said, “Here is your opportunity to gain all the kingdoms of the world. Just worship me.” Notice Jesus did none of the things that the devil gave him the opportunity to do. Why? Because Jesus realized this opportunity to do for himself was also an opportunity to resist the devil and have Him flee from him. In the hard moments of life and in the seasons where God desires to give you breakthrough, there will always be voices that try to sabotage your journey to greater things.

Part of recognizing your opportunity comes from knowing which voices to ignore. If David had killed Saul, he would have obtained the kingdom but forfeited the blessings of God upon him. This one action sent a message to all of David’s followers that this will be a different kingdom. God has called us to operate according to a different kingdom than the one we are surrounded by. We are members of the Kingdom of God and we prove our alliance by listening to God’s voice. Greater things come to our lives not because we seize the right opportunities, but because we respond right when opportunities come.

Today’s Challenge: Listen to the voice of God today. Don’t allow other voices to be a substitute for you personally hearing the voice of God. He is speaking. Take time to listen and obey. He has something to say regarding the opportunity before you.

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from a recent message at CFA. To listen, go to www.pastorgregsanders.com. If today’s devotion has been encouraging to you, please share it by clicking on the share button above. It is our desire that people of all ages and walks of life come to know Jesus personally.