On Hearing God’s Voice and the Cost of Obedience
Beloved Friends,
I must share with you something that fundamentally changed my understanding of the Christian life—a moment when God’s voice broke through my comfortable assumptions about faith.
Let me share how surrender fundamentally transformed my vision of Him. While living a distorted Christianity—believing a one-time prayer guaranteed my place in heaven and adopting a parasitic mentality that expected everything from God while giving nothing in return—I harbored anger toward Him and accused Him of countless wrongs.
One day, while I was complaining against Him, I heard a voice speaking from outside myself: “Surrender.” I looked around and saw nothing. The voice spoke again: “Surrender to me then.” Immediately, I stopped talking. I knew instinctively that this challenge was beyond anything I could handle on my own.
The problem was obvious: I had never heard a sermon about surrender, nor had anyone told me it was an essential component of the Christian life. When I explained this experience to my mentors, I was quickly dismissed for two reasons. The first mentor said dismissively, “That’s stupid because there’s no such thing as another surrender. We only surrender when we accept Christ, and that’s all.” The second mentor asked skeptically, “Why would God talk to you instead of me? I’ve had a tough life with Him—a very hard life.” This was not encouraging for someone genuinely seeking spiritual help. Nevertheless, I believed these people—they were my mentors and well-respected in the church.
Weeks passed, and I could find help nowhere. I scoured the New Testament looking for passages where God explicitly asked for surrender, but I couldn’t find any. However, that voice I had heard remained with me, persistent and undeniable.
After a while, I gave up seeking answers from others. I reasoned to myself: “If God asked me to surrender—even though I’ve been given every reason not to, even though I trust these people almost like I trust the Bible—God is still higher. So I guess I have to obey God.”
With this conviction, I decided to sit down alone one day and pray a prayer deeper than any I had ever prayed. When I finally stood up from the floor, I was so moved by the experience that I wished someone had witnessed what I’d done—they would have given me a pat on the back. I felt proud because I had never prayed with such intensity before.
Just when I thought my part was complete, the same voice spoke once more: “But you have not surrendered your soul to me.”
Here I was, not knowing what surrender truly meant, and this voice was telling me to surrender my soul. My immediate reaction was confusion. I turned around—still no one was there. I dismissed the voice and went about my business.
Reflection Question: What comfortable assumptions about your faith might God be challenging you to examine, and where do you sense Him inviting you into a deeper level of surrender that goes beyond your initial decision to follow Him?
The invitation to surrender is not comfortable, dear friends, but it is the doorway to authentic spiritual life.
With love in Christ,
Eternal Bliss
