Hebrews 3:7-11 (NKJV)
⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice,
⁸ Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,
⁹ Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.
¹⁰ Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’
¹¹ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

Then, the Word goes on to say,

Hebrews 3:16-19 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?
¹⁷ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?
¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?
¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

I was just reading this for a Bible study I’m involved with and saw something new in this Word.  Hearing His voice is a recommendation from the Lord.  If you hear, you have an opportunity set before you.  In this scripture, we are told that if we will hear His voice, and not rebel, then we will enter into His rest.  We are reminded what the result of rebellion was in Moses’ time, a story we are all familiar with.  The children of Israel rebelled against the Word of the Lord and they suffered the consequences of their decision.

Think about it.  Here’s Moses, leading this huge group of people because he heard God’s voice tell him to do so.  There were some, I would think, that wanted to believe in the words that Moses shared with them.  But they were surrounded by a huge crowd (some say one million strong) and the murmuring was rampant.  Think about the childhood game of “Telephone” we all played.  It starts with a statement and by the time it gets to the end of the line, the statement usually doesn’t even resemble the original words.  It’s funny as a game, but deadly as a way of life.

This chapter held for me insights into hearing God’s voice.  You and I have an opportunity that the children of Israel didn’t have; we can hear God’s voice all by ourselves, without having to depend on someone else!  That’s a hallelujah we can thank Jesus for.  God recommends that I attempt to hear His voice so I will be able to enter into His rest.  There’s something very peaceful and alluring to that statement.  I want His rest, therefore I want to hear His voice!  It is the cry of my heart these days and what we’ve been talking about recently.  Hearing His voice is key, so I’d better get to this assignment!

My prayer today is that all of us will be able to hear Him as we practice finding “God in the Yard”.  What a joy it will be to hear the voice of our God, talking to ME!  I know enough about God to know that His voice will tell me truth, it simply can be no other way.  I dare you to ask God to help you hear Him.  It’s what I’m praying today and I think God is tickled pink with a dare of this sort from His children.  Go ahead…I double-dare you!  May the God of the ages come down and hear our petition, that we might hear His voice!

Blessings on your day…