Day 231

It's Day 231 of  The Red Shoe Project and I've been up and about in RED shoes since 6 a.m.  I want give a shout out of  "THANKS!"  to all of you who have been tuning in to this mini-series on "Hearing God's Voice."  I've never had so many technical difficulties than I have these past few days while getting these specific messages posted.  They have taken hours longer to put together, and twice I have completely lost them right as I was posting, and had to re-write them from memory.  I'm trusting that the re-writes are better than the originals.

It seems the enemy is  trying his best to discourage me.  But I will not be discouraged!  A dear friend of mine just preached a message last week on
"Don't sit down and align yourself with discouragement!"
I called her today, told her what happened and asked her to pray me through this series.  Her words, to me, were this:  "You must be on the verge of a breakthrough!"  I'm totally embracing that!  I believe that it's not just a breakthrough of sorts for me, but that...

It's a Breakthrough 

FOR YOU!

I know that God wants to bring VICTORY in many of our lives, especially in the area of communication with Him.  He wants to have better connections with his children -- deeper, more intimate relationships.  I also know this...

 The devil hates it when Believers 

start fasting, looking for God 

and listening for His voice.

No worries... We are in this together.  Know that I am continually lifting you up in prayer, before the throne of God!  I have no doubts that God is speaking to many of you on this particular topic.  I know, because you've told me so!  Be encouraged!

Today, Let's take a look at a the...

 #2  Hindrance in Hearing God's Voice:

Unforgiveness!

If you take:  Unforgiveness,  Resentment,  

Bitterness,  Anger, Harboring Bad Feelings,  

Holding Grudges,  Unresolved Conflicts and Hatred

and put them all together, you get  

 -- A Garbage Dump --

a stinky, smelly, putrid, foul smelling, decaying mess! 

No one wants to have a conversation while sitting in the middle of a land fill... including God.  He makes it clear that we are to take care of those issues before coming to Him.  

"And when you stand praying, 

if you hold anything against anyone, 

forgive them, so that your Father

in heaven may forgive you."

Mark 11:25

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar 

and there remember that your brother or sister has 

something against you, leave your gift there in front 

of the altar.  First go and be reconciled to them; 

then come and offer your gift. "

Matthew 5:23-24

Several times over the last year, I have been in conversations with people who have had difficulty hearing God's voice.  One of the first questions I always ask is, "Are you holding on to unforgiveness?  Are you harboring resentment towards anyone?"  I've found that most people don't understand the severity of those things.  And it's not just about hindering ones ability to hear God's voice.  It's so much worse.  Unforgiveness brings about anxiety, disease and death!  It will tear you apart physically, emotionally and spiritually.  

Unforgiveness puts you in bondage. 

You become a SLAVE to it! 

 Like chains of steel, it wraps itself 

around you until you can't move a muscle.  

The Good News is...

Jesus can set you FREE from it!

If this is the obstacle that's holding you back from Hearing God's Voice,  it's time to focus your attention on rectifying this so that you can move forward.  Keep in mind, you don't have to be holding resentment towards everybody, you just have to be holding resentment towards somebody.  That's right... just ONE case puts you in this category.  

Now I'm not going to pretend that forgiving is easy... or that you can resolve everything in a day.  But START today!  With God's help,  you can do this!  A quick trip to Google or YouTube and you'll have more messages on Unforgiveness than you need.  Start there.  Choose your favorite minister and listen up.  Then take action... even if it's one baby step at a time.   Don't let this stand in the way of you Hearing God's Voice.  Perhaps the first thing you'll hear from Him is "Well Done!"

Your Breakthrough Awaits!

In Red shoes, 

Gail

Day 230

It's Day 230 of  The Red Shoe Project.  I've already taken Pauly for his morning walk and have kicked my Red ballet flats into the corner of the room.   I have decided to go shoeless, for the rest of the day,  as I sit at my computer to worship, pray and write.  No worries... my toe nails are a
ruby red  and will remind me to stay focused on what God wants to accomplish in my heart today, as well as in this blog.

As I continue to organize the thoughts in my head regarding Hearing God's Voice, I have, myself, been challenged to go even deeper.  Already I am preparing my heart and my calendar to begin a time of fasting and prayer in the near future.  I hope you don't think I'm preaching to you, for my writings are merely a journal of what God is doing in my heart;  His personal words of instruction to me;  my thoughts and prayers regarding spiritual matters;  and my own analysis as I struggle to figure out my individual walk with God so that I might make the most of it!

PART 3:  

Things that hinder 

my hearing God's voice.

Today I am thinking about the #1 hinderance to hearing God's voice.  

A "hindrance"  is  something that's in the way, preventing me from getting to where I want to go.  It's a...

- road block 

- delay

- snag

- deterrent,  

- impediment   

- obstacle

- barrier   

- encumbrance,

- stumbling block 

Without question, the #1 Hinderance to 

Hearing God's Voice has to be

LACK OF TIME.

I'm not going to kid you, hearing from God is awesome!  But it's also time consuming.  That's because God wants a relationship.  A relationship with anyone, let alone The God of the Universe, takes time.  With that, God doesn't always respond right when I want Him to.  Sometimes it can take hours, days, or longer.  I'm not easily offended, because I know all too well that God's time table is not the same as mine.  To him a thousand years is like a day.  But here's something to think about.  

Have you ever had someone start hanging 

around you , and it dawns on you that

 they don't really want to be your friend... 

they just want something you have?

At first they say all the right things, but it doesn't take long to recognize the phoniness of their friendship.  Enough said?  God isn't one of those carnival fortune telling machines that you drop a quarter into and out pops your horoscope.  He's also not fooled when people pop in to merely obtain a Good Word and once they have it, they disappear again.  Quite the contrary.  God is omniscient.  That means He knows everything.  He knows how I'm really doing, regardless of what I say.  He knows what I'm thinking continuously.  He knows all my doubts and insecurities.  He knows what makes me happy and what makes me sad.  He knows what makes me tick - why I do the things I do.  He even knows things about me that I haven't yet discovered.  And that's only the half of it.  He knows me top to bottom, inside and out!  And even with all that knowledge,  He still yearns to sit and talk with me.  In His time,  He will.  That's why He wants  a relationship!

But I must be willing to WAIT:

• to linger in His presence until something happens. 
• to remain in readiness for some purpose.  
• to stay put until He engages in conversation with me. 
• to rest in Him, trusting and believing, He'll respond.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to Him must believe

that He exists and that He rewards those 

who earnestly seek Him."

   Hebrews 11:6

I don't think of it as "spending time."  No, it's more of an investment of my time.  I call it that because God blesses me for making time for Him.  He's the best Spiritual Banker in town, offering compounding interest at a Heavenly rate!  No one else comes close to matching that.  Time with Him is what makes me RICH!  Yes, I'm quite the wealthy women!

In closing, I want to stress that Waiting on God can be more challenging than you think.  Have you ever waited for a bus or taxi and it seemed to take forever?
Some time ago, I remember God giving me a word to give to a dear sister in the Lord.  He told me to tell her,   "He sees her. 
 He hasn't forgotten her.  And that things would be changing soon."

Well, she's still waiting.  It's been much longer than expected.  I understand, all too well, how long God's "soon" can take.  I've put it on my list with God's other terms like... "just around the corner" and "closer than you think."  But in times like this, I'm reminded of when Jesus said to the Twelve,

"You do not want to leave too, do you?"

Simon Peter answered him,

"Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life."

Where else would I go?  I'd rather wait for God, than get a quick fix somewhere else, only to be disappointed in the long run.  Those quick fixes never work out.  I know because I've tried them many times.   There's an old saying,  

"Good things come to those that wait."  

That said...

I'm getting up every morning, 

putting on my Red Shoes 

and waiting!  I'm watching 

and waiting for Him.  

Perhaps "soon" will arrive with Him today!

Gail

Day 229

I've been in RED sandals all afternoon, on this 229th Day of  The Red Shoe Project. I met with two girlfriends today, and both brought up the topic of Fasting and Hearing God's Voice.  It seems that God is speaking to many about separating themselves from the everyday routine and drawing in a little closer to Him for a Special Word.  With that said, many have asked me:

How do I distinguish God's Voice 

from all the other voices in my head?

Part 2:  

Recognizing God's Voice

from amongst the crowd.

Personally, I have found there to be 4 categories in which all the voices in my head fit into.

1. The voice of the Natural Man
2. The voice of the Enemy
3. The voice of Reason
4. The voice of God

If I can recognize which voices fall into which categories, I can better distinguish which voice is God's voice. Perhaps these observations will help:

1.  The voice of the Natural Man.

There are many voices that fall into the category of the Natural Man, but the goal of all of them is to feed my flesh. I can easily pick out these worldly voices because they all try to appeal to my senses through one of the following:

1. The lust of the eyes
2. The lust of the flesh
3. The pride of life

"For everything in the world -- the lust of the flesh, 

the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life --

comes not from the Father, but from the world."

1 John 2:16

The lust of the eyes is what I look at.

"Wow!  Take a look at that!"

The lust of the flesh is what I taste, touch, smell and hear.

"I wonder if that tastes as good as they say it does?"

"I bet it would feel good to..."

"That smell is so enticing.  It reminds me of..."

"Did you hear what they were saying?"

The pride of life is all about thinking more of myself that I ought to.

"I am someone special... better than most!"

"I have something they don't!"

"I know more than they do!"

"I am looking darn good!"

Beware:  

The voice of the Natural Man 

is the voice of Temptation!

It doesn't seem like such a big deal up front, but following the voice of the Natural Man is often the first step in the wrong direction and can lead to spiritual demise!  This is the voice of Temptation.  

Temptation is the desire to do something wrong or unwise. 

It's a strong wanting or wishing 

for something to happen that's 

not a part of God's plan for me.  

Lending my ear to the voice of the Natural Man is like a fish taking the bait... it thinks it's found dinner, but low and behold it's been snagged, in for an unexpected struggle, and set up for major disappointment! 

2. The voice of the Enemy.

The evil voice of the Enemy is perhaps the easiest to differentiate.  It is the native tongue of Satan, himself.  It is the language of Lies.  The goal of these voices is to steal, kill and destroy.  It is jam-packed with negativity and will result in defeat, depression, despair, distrust, and even death.

"The theif comes to steal, kill and destroy..."

John 10:10a

The enemy is out to rob you of a relationship with God.

"You don't really believe all that religious stuff, do you?"

"God isn't real.  He's just for weak people!"

"See... where's your God now?  I told you so!"

Satan will attempt to kill you in order to keep you from connecting with God.

"Your life is meaningless, so why bother to keep on living?"

"You'll never amount to anything, so why not just end it all now!"

"Nobody cares about you.  Your better off dead!"

"Just try this drug... everybody else is doing it!"

Demonic spirits will shred you with lies and abusive words to keep you down.

"You're stupid!" "No one will ever love you!"  "You're a joke!"

"You're fat!"  "You're ugly!"  "You're not good enough!"  

"People are talking about you behind your back."  

"They're laughing at you!" "Nobody cares about you!"

"You can't trust anyone!"  "Your a failure!"  

"It will never get better!" "You'll never amount to anything!"

Remember... these are lies from the pit of hell!  This is what I often refer to as "The Birds."  They can be relentless in their efforts.  Sometimes they drop the craziest thoughts in my mind.  I'm forever shooing them away.  Don't let them nest in your hair!  Take authority over this enemy in Jesus' Name and silence these voices immediately!   Keep this in mind, in the second part of  John 10:10, Jesus says...

"...but I  have come that you might have life, 

and have it to the full!"

John 10:10b

3.  The voice of Reason.

Perhaps the most challenging of all the voices is the voice of Reason.  That's because it makes sense.  It's logical!  When I'm listening to the voice of Reason, I often catch myself saying things like:  "After looking at all my options, this one seems to me to make the most sense."  The problem here is that I rarely think the way God thinks.  What makes sense to me, may not be what God is saying.  He may have another idea in mind.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says this...

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways," 

declares the Lord.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts."

The voice of reason isn't bad, it just may not be God's.  Yes, God gave me a mind in order to think things through and make good decisions.  But when it comes to those really important things...

I don't want Gail's thoughts --

I want to know GOD's thoughts!

4.  The voice of God.

Most often, when all the other voices have been eliminated, there, sitting in the center of my heart and mind is God's voice, just waiting to be heard.  Over the years I have found there to be three consistent characteristics that make His voice stand out amongst the others.   His voice is always...

1. Gentle and Caring
2. In alignment with The Bible
3. Anointed.

First, God's voice is never harsh, hurtful, hateful and abusive.  It's the exact opporsite...  Gentle and Caring!  Even during times of correction, discipline or when He is presenting something other than what I was hoping for, I always seem to realize that He has my best interests at heart.

Second, His voice is ALWAYS in alignment with His Holy Word.  Thank goodness for that!  This is what makes it so easy to eliminate the other voices.  What's being said just doesn't line up.  

I hate to admit it, but there have been a few times in my life, when I've followed the voice of the Natural Man and tried to justify my works in the flesh by telling myself... "This is an exception to the rule."  "My case is different."  "God will understand and grant me grace."  God will never force me to follow His voice.  The choice is mine.  

 But deep down in my heart... I know exactly what He's saying... I just don't always want to acknowledge it, because it's not what I want to hear.   Hmmm.  

A key sign that I'm in that place is that I'm secretive about whatever it is that's questionable.  I keep it to myself.  Why?  Because I know that if someone else knew, they'd call me out on it!  If it's not under wraps, it's because the people I'm exposed to are in the same boat -- they have secrets of their own.  We all tell each other that it's not a big deal, God still loves us, and that times have changed.  Yes, God does still love us, and times have changed.  Every day, the world is more accepting of ungodly behavior that feeds the flesh.  But God hasn't changed and neither has His Word.

Far too often this is when the "Don't Judge Me!"  card is played.  The thing is, even if people don't judge me, and they shouldn't,  God's voice is still there, lovingly calling me out from the ways of the world and persuading me to trust Him more.  He has a plan for me -- a better way than what the world has to offer!

Lastly, God's word is anointed!  When He speaks to me from The Bible, the words jump off the page at me.  When He delivers his message to me through others, it's packed with power!  When He takes a moment to whisper something directly to my heart... it's as if He's been put on an intercom.  I can't miss it!  His voice melts my soul!  It brings me to my knees.  It causes me to laugh, cry, shout and sing!  I'm overwhelmed at the fact that  God has spoken to me!  He's taken time to meet me where I'm at and talk with me.  How awesome is that?  One thing I know for sure is this: 

 God's desire is for me to know His voice.

"My sheep listen to my voice, 

I know them and they follow me."

John 10:27

With that, I'm kicking off my Red shoes and heading off to bed.  

Tomorrow I'll talk more on the matter. 

See you then!

Gail

Day 228

Today is  Day 228 of  The Red Shoe Project.  My key objective for the next couple days (aside from sporting my Ruby Reds, of course), is to pull together my thoughts on Hearing the Voice of God.  A dear friend of mine shared with me that she is taking some time to fast and pray in order to hear God's voice on a particular matter.  Truth be told, shouldn't we all be doing this on somewhat of a regular basis?  I'm in!

Part 1:  Fasting

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,

the Holy Spirit spoke to them saying,  "Set apart for me 

Banabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."  

So after they fasted and prayed, they placed their hands 

on them and sent them off.  (Acts 13: 2-3)

One of the precursors to this Red Shoe Project was a time of fasting.  I was struggling to understand the personal application of certain scriptures in my life.  I didn't get it!  I didn't know how it worked.  Like Dorothy from Kansas, I couldn't figure how the darn shoes would take me home!  Have you ever had one of those days?  I was frustrated and desperate to hear from God on the matter.

STEP 1.  I sensed God telling me to enter into a time of fasting and prayer.  What does that mean?  At the time, I was sitting at a teacher's feet, taking in all the wisdom I could get.  She seemed to have a clear connection to God.   I noticed that several times she mentioned that periodically, she eats a light meal, once a day, and focuses on private prayer.  She never stated that I should fast -- she just casually mentioned in conversation, that she did.  But the Lord would not let me forget her words.  They haunted me for days until finally I found myself saying, "Maybe I should fast?"  Then the peace came.

Okay... a couple key points here.

(1) Sometimes I can get so wrapped up in the fast itself, that it becomes a huge ordeal that I can easily talk myself out of.  Should I do a water fast or fruits and veggies?  Which is the best?  Should I fast for a day?  A meal a day?  Several days?  How many days?  Hmmm.  We've all been there.  There is something to be said about the proper way to fast, and there are a handful of really good books out there if you want to read more, but this particular teacher made it simple and easy for me...

Eat Lightly and 

Focus on Private Prayer.

(2) Sometimes we think fasting is all about not eating.  It's not.  It's all about our connection with God!  The fast is just a method of removing distractions so that you can focus on hearing God voice.  The distractions may be self initiated.  They could be produced by the busyness of life.  They could also be the result of lack of consecration.  Distractions may come from within ourselves. How do we quiet  the many voices in our head?  Fasting is a way of forcing my flesh to submit to my authority as I submit to God's authority.  That, my friend, is not an easy task.  Basically I'm telling my mind and body... 

"This is really important to me... 

so I'm pushing aside the usual 

priorities and rituals of life  

until I get an answer." 

(3) Fasting is not about losing weight and looking good.  It's about dying to self.  Deciding to fast is best when you're lead by the Spirit to do so.   Whether I want to admit it or not, I can be my own worst enemy... or at least my flesh can.  With that in mind, I know all too well that my flesh is going to fight me tooth and nail on this.  Understand this:  The flesh hates fasting!  But when God's Spirit leads you to fast, He'll give you a  "Divine Determination"  to stick to it.  You'll be committed!

"Interested" is  being "all in" as long as it's convenient.

"Committed" is doing whatever it takes, whether it's convenient or not!

(4)  Keeping things simple is important, but you also want to be strategic.   Most often I stick to a vegan lifestyle.  I eat to live as opposed to living to eat.  I like the spiritual effects that vegan eating has on my life.  So when it comes to fasting,  technically I'm already fasting.  I simply make a few tweaks here and there.  The Lord, however, challenged me to refrain from other things as well, during this special time of drawing in with Him

.  

In order to focus on Private Prayer, 

I need to clear my calendar, my life 

and my mind of all the clutter!

With that in mind, I do my best to avoid taking things in that are not spiritually nutritious.  That means I unplug a lot of electronic devices that can easily suck up a lot of my time like the television, phone, radio, computer, etc.   When I'm fasting, I don't watch that one "cop show" that I always tune in to  every week.  I don't listen to music that doesn't specifically lead me to a place of worship.  I don't browse the internet or hang out on Pinterest.  I don't occupy my mind with games of sorts.  I stay out of conversations that aren't necessary.  I don't go shopping.  I don't go to the spa.  I don't look at fashion magazines.  I skip recreational reading completely.  I even avoid social gatherings that aren't necessary.  Are any of those things wrong?  Of course not!  But during a time of fasting,  I am attempting to free myself up from my normal schedule so that I can spend more time with Him.  That's the goal, and refraining from these  "other things"  helps me achieve that.   

Be honest... have you ever found yourself fasting, but not doing the prayer part?  I know it sounds ridiculous,  but I've done that many times.  All my time was spent on not eating food, and little to no time was spent with Him, in prayer.  Fasting from these "other things" while I'm also abstaining from food,  provides the much needed time for the prayer part.  If I'm going to go to great lengths to fast, I want to make sure I'm reaching my goal.  Isn't that the point?

With my calendar cleared,  I have a lot of extra time on my hands.  I invest that time doing things that will usher me into His presence.  So I read my Bible along with articles or books that will inspire me to draw closer.  I put on music that will prepare my heart to receive from Him.  I keep myself quieter than usual, so that I can hear Him when he calls.  You get the picture.  I was dumbfounded by the distractions that were eliminated by doing this.  It makes a huge difference!  

Tomorrow, I will share more on Hearing the Voice of God,  however, let me ask you something.

Do you really want to hear what 

God has to say regarding your matter?  

and if so, 

Are you prepared to act on His advice?

Two simple questions.  If your answer is YES to both of them, I am confident that He will talk with you.  

Be sure to check out  The Red Shoe Project tomorrow and find out how to distinguish God's Voice from amongst the clatter of voices in your head.  Until then... Keep looking for God in your everyday life!

The gal in Red Shoes, 

Gail