Hearing God's Voice

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-9

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves." So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sar'ai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:12-13, 18-20, 22

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men; Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield. Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.

Gospel: Matthew 7:1-5

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

ESV

"Seriously, God? You want me to do what?"

In the Scriptures the Lord speaks to Abraham (our forefather formerly known as: Abram), to Moses, to Joshua, and countless others, as if there was an audible voice to be heard. We do not hear God like Abraham did. It is not always clear whether the Lord's voice was an audible voice, an inner feeling, or a mental thought, but whether a voice from the sky or not, the Lord asks us to do things that are leaps of faith, both big and small.

The Lord speaks and tells Abraham to do something pretty crazy—to move his whole life at his old age. Sometimes the Lord asks us to do that . . . to move our life or change jobs . . . big things that take great courage and trust. The Lord also scales this down into our day-to-day life. He asks us to take little leaps of faith all day, and we can only hear them if we are in tune with Him and His heart.

One example of this in my life was when I was at Target once, and they rang up all the items for the lady in front of me. It turned out she could not afford a number of them, so the cashier took them off her bill and she set them to the side for restocking.

"Pay for her things." I "heard" it in my heart and I knew it was God. So I did. I followed a small and simple instruction from God, without question. I do not know what that did for her, or why God prompted me to do that, but I listened and acted that afternoon.

There are other days when I feel God's little nudges, and I do not act upon them. There are days when the Lord nudges me to call a particular person, and I make excuses or get too busy. There are days when the Lord says clear as day in my heart as I am out in public, "Compliment that person," and I don't because I am too afraid of what they will think. If God prompted me to do it, they probably needed to be uplifted in some way, but I could not bring myself to that little leap.

So today, I pray to be more like Abraham . . . willing to follow the calling of the Lord at a moment's notice. Because I know that the more I respond to His promptings, the more willing I am to respond to the next one, and the next one . . . and only then am I living with the Holy Spirit alive in my bones, moving through my every moment, in tune with the heart of my Father.

I want to live with the Holy Spirit alive in my bones.Click to tweet

Do you respond to the promptings of God, most especially in your day-to-day life? Do you take the small leaps of faith He calls you to?

Emily Wilson planned her whole life to become a sports reporter but turned out to be a Catholic musician and speaker at the hand of God. She lives out of her suitcase and travels across the world speaking to people of all ages. The heart of her ministry is offering encouragement to teen girls in search of their true identity, and she loves ever second of it. You can find out more about her here.