No matter how anointed a man or woman of God is, your obedience should be to God. ONLY God’s voice should influence your will, thoughts, and actions. I don’t care if they are as eloquent as apostle Paul. It is amazing how often we heed the voice and words of men without checking in with God. Do not get me wrong – I am not saying that God does not speak to us through pastors and spiritual mentors. However, we often forget that no matter how God uses or has used a man, they are mere mortals. We cannot replace God’s voice with that of those who we respect. It might be clearer if I shared a story I stumbled across in the Bible.

A Young Prophet & his Senior

1st Kings 13 has an amazing story (read it!). I must have read it a million times but it clicked for me a few days ago. God sent a Young Prophet to king Jeroboam to warn him of impending doom. As any despot would, Jeroboam ordered the young prophet to be seized and imprisoned. God’s sign was displayed and the young prophet was used miraculously. When the king offered the young prophet some gifts, we discover that God had instructed the prophet not to eat or drink or return by the same road. As news spread around, a senior prophet hopped on a donkey and tracked down the young prophet. He told him God had sent him to tell him to eat and drink. This ended the destiny of the young prophet, who perished shortly. It turns out the senior prophet, whom God no longer used, lied.

There was no way for the young prophet to know that the senior prophet was no longer being used by God. He trusted him because he was an elder, his senior, a man God had used probably before he became a prophet. In that instance, he allowed the voice of a mortal to override God’s voice.

Pay close attention

When I was young we used to sing a song:

“God has something to say, God has something to say;

Listen, listen, pay great attention, for God has something to say”.

It is important that we respect the men and women God has ordained to manage his flock here on earth. However, we should NEVER forget that they are mere mortals too. King David was a leader God highly favors, but he was also deeply flawed. All humans, myself included, are like that. This is why we must always measure the words we hear against God’s wors and follow God more than we follow spiritual leaders and mentors. The only way we know whether God is speaking to us through them or is speaking to us directly is to develop a close relationship with him and to invest time in reading the bible. There is no shortcut!

The post ONLY God’s voice appeared first on Words that Inspire.