Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, friend. Welcome to Perspectives into Practice, a place where life's stories meet practical wisdom. Together, we'll explore how faith filled perspectives can transform the way we live, love, and grow. So grab a seat, settle in, and join us on this journey to turn inspiration into action. Let's dive in foreign hey, friends, welcome back to Perspectives into Practice. Today I have such a special guest with me, my dear friend, Amanda. Amanda has an incredible heart for the Lord and I know that you are going to love hearing from her. Today we're actually doing two episodes together. Super exciting. So be sure to tune in for our next conversation too. Before we dive in, I do want to share a fun fact about Amanda. She was actually a figure skater and I love hearing all these surprises from my friends. Amanda, do you still skate?
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Very, very rarely, but I do still. I just got rid of my skates from my.
My competitive skating years.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: They don't fit me.
[00:01:16] Speaker A: Do your kids know that you figure skated?
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yes, and they have me do jumps and spins every time we go to the rink. That's amazing. Show me how to do that.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. Well, welcome. Today, I'm so glad that you're here. We are talking about something so important, which is how to hear God's voice and actually follow it. And it's one of those things that we want to hear from him. And it's another thing to actually step out in obedience when he speaks. And I know that you have a powerful story about this. So let's start from the beginning and just tell us about your desire to know him from a young age.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Yeah. So when I was a little girl, I was so desperate to hear God's voice. I remember reading in Scripture how David cried out to the Lord and said, you know, if no one will go, Lord, send me. And I remember that verse just like, really impacting my whole heart.
And I from that point, I was like, I want to know this God's voice. And so I really started seeking out the Lord.
I have to say, like, at first I would pray and I didn't really hear much. Honestly, for years I didn't hear much. And I'll never forget I was in high school and just minding my own business, and I was walking one day into a grocery store, and the Lord was like, hey, I want you to pick up this trash. And I was so taken back by that because I didn't know the Lord's voice. So I'm like, what's this voice in my head? You know, And I had battled with a little bit of depression, so I knew about inner voices. So here I am thinking, like, what. What is this voice? You know? Is this God? Is this me? Is it? What. What am I hearing? And I decided, you know what? I'm gonna be obedient. Honestly, I was a little bit embarrassed to be obedient, because, I mean, like, who does that? I'm a high school kid. You're worried about being cool and fitting in. And I was definitely not that I was none of those things.
And so I decided, you know, I'm gonna do this. And so I did. And the next day, the Lord said, I want you to go to this high school. Of course, you know, the most awkward thing to do, and I want you to pick up all of the trash in the parking lot, and I want you to throw it away.
And so I did. I went with my sister. She. She agreed to go with me because I was like, I'm not going to this high school. It was the high school on the worst side of town, too, you know?
[00:03:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:59] Speaker B: And I'm like, okay, so I'm gonna be obedient. And I did, and I went and I cleaned up the trash. And honestly, I didn't think really anything of it. I thought to myself, like, I'm just being obedient.
And. And honestly, I don't even think I knew that word to be. I knew the word, but I didn't know to be obedient to the Lord. I just knew I was told to do this. I'm doing this, you know, period.
And it was so impactful to my sister, years down the road told me that it, like, completely shaped the way that she viewed hearing the voice of the Lord. And I didn't really even know that. I didn't think of that in the time. So, you know, I started, I think, early on, and like I said, I didn't hear the Lord's voice very young, or I didn't know that I was hearing it, even if I did.
But as that built and grew, it shaped my entire life. It shaped every decision that I've made. It shaped the community that I invest in.
And, you know, I think sometimes it can be easy to get stuck on, is it me or is it the Lord? But someone years ago gave me advice and kind of said, hey, even if it's not, God can redeem anything. So if you're doing something out of a heart posture of obedience, that's more important than getting everything right. You know, none of us get everything right.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: And so, yeah, I definitely. I learned a lot from that, high school years and that, honestly, that him asking me to do little things here and there, that has continued and just changed, you know, now it's not trash anymore.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: And actually, at one point in time, he was like, okay, don't pick that up. Because I was just so used to it. And I was like, wait, you told me to do this all these years?
[00:05:46] Speaker A: He's like, leave the garbage.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: Yeah. And he was like, you've done what I asked you to do. You were obedient in that. And it's cool, too, to like, the catch and the release of that and getting to not only do what he says to do, but do what he says not to do. And I think, honestly, sometimes the not to do is harder.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Well. And I feel like when the Lord asks us to do something, he's not necessarily asking us because he can't do it, because he is the Almighty. He could do whatever he wants. It really is. I believe that it's. He's wanting us to trust him. He's wanting us to obey and just do it. And I mean, I. I can imagine, like, you're pouring out. You're like, I would like David's heart and God's like, okay, go pick up trash. You're like, I'm sorry, hold on. I was hoping for a more holy.
More holy thing, but it's that obedience in saying, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord, like, over and over. And then he's going to trust you in bigger and larger things, and he's going to ask bigger and larger things of you. And I just think that's. That's so beautiful. But then also that your sister was able to be changed by that situation just from you saying yes and doing it. And sometimes that's the point. Sometimes the point is. Has nothing to do with you. It has to do with another person or just letting the Lord know that you're willing to be available. Right.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, I've always been enamored by the Psalms and just David's posture towards the Lord as a whole, because I'm a melancholy. So, you know, naturally I tend to lean more towards the. The moody side of things. You know, I. I'm very aware of my feelings, and I love that David is so good at bringing all of that to the Lord, but yet still knowing who he is on the other side of that. And I. I was just so enamored with the heart posture of David. But honestly, more than anything, David is obedient. He's always obedient. He's always obedient when he knows he's satisfied suffering, when he knows he will suffer or that he won't get his way or that he's going to be punished by the Lord because he sinned. I just love that.
I mean, he always comes back to wanting to honor his. His Father in heaven. And I. I'm just so drawn to that. And so I think it's so true. But at the end of the day, I think God was really after David's trust. You know, like, he wanted David to trust him in everything and to. For the Lord alone to be your one confidence. I think knowing the voice of God really, at the end of the day is just being so confident in Him. It's not even about us anymore, you know? And so if he says go, we're like, yeah. If he says stay, we're like, yes, I'm all in. And I think the Lord from a young age was after my trust because of my family history and. And just a lot of other things in life that I didn't know would happen, that did. That just really broke my trust in humanity as a whole and even in the Lord, you know, where it's like, how do you reconcile these hard things with the God who is perfect and holy and awesome and kind, you know? And I think the Lord was really after the trust of my heart. Whenever he said something that I knew it was Him. And I think hearing his voice is one of the ways that he really, you know, comforts me in that and draws me back to, actually, I am good and actually, you can trust me. And so I love that you talked about trust, because I think a lot of times we think of God as just like, he tells us to do something and we do it. But really, at the end of the day, he really just wants our heart. And he's just after that. And he wants us to know that he's a good father and that he has good things for us. So I learned a lot through that, just even knowing God's voice. And I'm sure you've been through seasons too, where you're like, do I know God's voice? I mean, absolutely. And lining up.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Exactly. And it's such a fluid thing. And one of the things that I realized that I can hear, sometimes it's a whisper, sometimes it's a scream. And it really has to do with my heart and how close I am to Him. The further away I am, the less I'm able to hear him, the further away I am from the scriptures and the Word.
It's just harder to hear. Even though I know what he sounds like, because I have been in the Word and I know what. What he says and what his promises are, and I know the truths in there. I know those things. But we're also human. And like you said, like, we all go through seasons, and sometimes we're further away. And I feel like that's when he doesn't ever stop talking to us. It's whether we are choosing to listen right? And. And to be obedient and just trust that he's got it. Because we can mess up real quick really easily. It's very easy for us to do that.
But also then remember that he didn't just stop talking to us. We're probably a little far away. And that's okay because we can always come back. He doesn't move. He's always there. He's always the right God. And it's us that has to realize, okay, this is me.
[00:11:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:43] Speaker A: So what kind of things did you do in your early, early years to get to the point where you heard from the Lord? Because I'm sure that there's ladies listening that are like, okay, that's cool that you guys can. But what does that even. What does that mean? What does that look like?
[00:11:59] Speaker B: That's such a good question. I think one thing that I.
And I've gone through seasons, an ebb and flow, if you will, but I was really obsessed with reading my Bible. I mean, I just really felt like the words jumped off of the page and they were like, honey, you know, truly to my soul. And so I think that once you know the character of God, it's easier to know who he is when he speaks, speaking to you, because we have so many thoughts that are our own or our subconscious. Or maybe it's someone else's voice that, you know, a parent or a teacher or a person that doesn't like us or someone who really likes us. We have all these thoughts in our mind, and they're kind of all like, you know, cars on a highway. And sometimes it's really hard to catch them, you know, because they go so fast. And so I think knowing the character of God was what made his voice so much more clear. And, you know, I know a lot of people have had a lot of conversations about that quiet time versus, you know, do I have to have quiet time every day? And all these things? And I just think, you know, you won't know something unless you study it. Right? And so it's like with school, with math, whatever subject, you know, you're not going to know it. So if somebody said, what's multiplication? But you don't know what multiplication is? You cannot really even fathom that. And so for me, I would say that if you're somebody who wants to know God's voice, it's really important to know who he even is so that you can know his voice. And the way to do that is in the word of God. So that is probably the biggest part of how I got to know God's voice. I would say the second part, and probably just as important, in my opinion, is that I spent a lot of time just talking to him, even though I don't necessarily know that I heard him. You know, I was intentional. And I. I didn't have those words at the time. It wasn't like I was thinking, I'm going to be intentional, and I'm going to. At the time, I made an intentional effort to seek him. And. And I think of relationships in general. There's always. Even with friendships, a lot of times we don't talk about this, but there's always a courtship period, even in a friendship, where you're like, who are you and who am I? And do we even mesh? Do we have the same ultimate goal in life? Because without that, it means nothing. And so there's this courtship, even with the Lord, where you don't really know him that well, and you don't really know when he shows up or when he, you know, whatever. You don't know those little minute things that as you get in a really sweet relationship with somebody, you start to know, oh, she's. She's not. She's in a funk today. Like, something's off. Or with a spouse, you can tell those things. And now it's like that second nature, because I've really invested my heart into knowing that. But at first it was very clumsy. I didn't know what was happening half the time. And I was just like, I think I'm doing the right thing. You know, I'm going to stumble forward. And I sure thought that was so sweet. And so I think he finds us very adorable. I don't think that he's, you know, in there, like, wow, she doesn't do this, and she doesn't read her word every day. But I. I do think that he's so, like, probably a little bit enamored with, like, oh, that's so sweet. Like, she's trying so hard. She's so bad at this, you know, so that's.
[00:15:36] Speaker A: Bless her heart.
[00:15:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
He's like, she's trying so hard. Let's give her a bone over here. This poor girl. So I think of it that way and like reading your word, but also just making intentional time to make an effort towards Him.
God is, like you said, he is always there. He's ever present. And ever present is such a, like, thick meaning word because there's so much depth. Depth to it. It means that he's intentional. It means that he's patient, means that he's so kind even when we're not. And so ever present isn't just this, like, I mean, the American language. We've slanged it up so much that we don't even know the meaning of some of these words, but they're so beautiful. And he's so ever present. It's us that wonder. And so when we can draw our heart back to that sweet spot where we're just in his presence and we let his word just, you know, soak our heart and meditate on it, it's like so hard not to hear him at that point, you know, because you're just like, wow, that's not Jesus. And I won't. Yeah, I won't be partnering with that, you know.
[00:16:44] Speaker A: Right. Because when you know what he sounds like and his promises, you know what the enemy sounds like, because it's not. It's the opposite. Right. And. And that can be. That can be really tricky is. Is finding that. But I love what you said at the beginning, that God is gracious and he does redeem all things. And even if we.
We're like, oh, yeah, I think this is. This is. This is the Lord, maybe it wasn't quite right. Like, you're like, oh, yeah, I'm going to pick up all the trash. And he's like, nope, just the ones over there.
So what can we do to be more aware of God's voice in our daily lives? Is there something that you, like, continue to do besides you know, talking to him and reading the Bible? But, like, how can you be aware?
[00:17:30] Speaker B: That's so good, you know, recently we've always been chasing, I guess I would say, after really learning to Sabbath or to rest with the Lord, you know, just a very basic thing, yet so hard.
And I notice when I am more at peace, when I'm more at rest, not even at peace, because I believe that peace is a gift from the Lord. I don't think that that's something we can create. But when I intentionally set my mind on, I'M gonna just sit here. I'm not gonna worry about tomorrow. I'm not gonna worry about finances or relationships or where we're gonna go in five years or whatever. I'm literally just gonna sit here and soak in this moment. I think that really invites his presence. And we are so busy as a society. Our culture is so, so busy. And, I mean, you hear it all. Everyone hears it all the time. But I'm sure you've heard this many, many times that, you know, people really praise the hustle culture. And so it's like, what are you putting out? What are you doing? You know? And as someone who is a creative, I really love painting, right? And so I will literally make. I'll do this, and I'll do that, and I'll do this, and I'll do that. And I'm like, I could have just done this one picture, but that wasn't enough for me. I had to do 10, you know?
[00:18:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:59] Speaker B: And we get so busy and so wrapped up in ourselves and our lives, and we don't even make space. And so, you know, God can't come in a place where there's no space, and he won't come where he's not welcome. And so he has to be welcome, and he has to have space. And so I would say learn to rest, you know, because.
And I actually read this in a Magnolia Journal magazine, you know, like the Joanna Gaines magazine.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: Where she said that she and her husband are very intentional about making time for rest. That that is where a lot of their creativity and other things come from. So you'll find that when you rest, it's so countercultural. Rest. And you do more. No way. That's not a thing. But it truly is. And the kingdom of heaven, it's so upside down, you know, rest. And all of a sudden you have all this fruit. You didn't know where it came from, and you have all this intimacy with the Lord that you didn't know where it came from. And that's because you've made space so that other things could fill them. Kind of like spring cleaning, you know? So do some spring cleaning and get all this stuff out of there. I just did that actually in my house again. I do it, like, every two months. And you just don't realize how much junk is in your house. It's the same thing with your mind. You have all this stuff. You're like, where did this idea come from or this thought come from? And we can do that inside of our own mind. We can spring clean, get rid of all the clutter, and make space. And you're always going to come to a place where you have to do that again because you're human, and that's okay. Just do it, you know? And I think you'll find that you hear him more and maybe that you even just enjoy his creation more.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, Amanda, this has been so, so powerful. What is one perspective that you can encourage our friends listening today to apply right now in their life?
[00:21:04] Speaker B: One perspective. That's a hard one. One perspective. I would say you'll never, ever regret putting in the effort to know the Lord's voice, because it will change everything that you do, every relationship you have, and every thing that you put effort into. So know his voice and learn to really trust it so that he can do things in your life that you never dreamed were possible.
[00:21:35] Speaker A: Oh, so good. So good. Amanda, thank you so much for sharing your heart with us today. And, friends, you're going to want to come back to the next conversation that we have, because we are going to be talking about what happens after obedience. So this is how we're going to surrender control and lead to freedom. And I. Oh, my gosh, I'm excited about it. So if this episode has encouraged you, please be sure to follow this podcast, share it with a friend who needs this message today. And remember, even small shifts in perspective can lead to big change. Now go put those perspectives into practice. See you next time.
