Hearing from God is great, but you must remain open to what He says next. a) The Apostle Paul talks about us beholding the glory of the Lord and then being continually changed into that very same image. Actually, the way Paul explains it, the longer we walk with God, and the more we are changed into His image, the more glory is revealed. The more glory we are exposed to, the more we are changed, and this process repeats itself for the rest of our lives.
b) You cannot just hear from the Holy Spirit one time. You must hear and then continue to hear. Being led by the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event. It is a lifelong journey.
c) Abraham heard from God clearly. God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2). Abraham obeyed God. Even though he and his wife believed God for 25 years for Isaac to be born, he was willing to do whatever God was leading him to do, even though this was a hard ask. The next morning Abraham, his son, and two servants took off. Abraham did not know where he was going, but he was being led. On the third day of the journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He knew in his heart it was the place. He said to his servant, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Notice that Abraham said, “we”. He did not know how it was going to happen, but he believed he and his son would go UP the mountain and he and his son would come DOWN the mountain. He was doing this by faith. So Abraham and Isaac got to the top of the mountain, Abraham prepared his son for the sacrifice, Isaac cooperated (that was faith too!), and the big moment came. Abraham had his son on the altar. He had a knife in his hand. He had a Word from God. He was being obedient to the Word. Verse 10 says, “Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” Just then, at that moment, Abraham heard from God again. The angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy!” We know the story. Isaac was spared. Abraham was tested and he passed the test.
My point in sharing this story juxtaposed against the passage in 2 Corinthians 3 is that we must hear from God, and then remain continually open to hear what God says next. If Abraham did not remain open to CONTINUE TO HEAR from God, he would have killed his son. Fast forward to today. We are not like Abraham. We don’t need the Angel of the Lord to speak to us. We have the Holy Spirit. God is living on the inside of us. We can hear, and continue to hear, on the inside, every day... and every moment of the day. So enter this day ready to hear what God is saying. And while you are launching out, in faith, ready to obey that Word, remain open to what He says NEXT! Spirit-led living one-time event. It’s a lifelong journey!
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