“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” (Dt. 18:18-20)
People often accept the words of those in spiritual authority as the voice of God. But do those who speak actually have the conviction that their words are truly from Him? Many often mistake their own thoughts for God’s Word and speak them out. God warns sternly that He will “personally call to account” those who do so. It is a terrifying and solemn warning.
In the light of this Word, I cannot help but reflect on my own life. How have I been speaking? Is it from my own thoughts, or truly in the name of God? The biblical warning that many false voices will rise in the last days is not just a story about others. I feel that if I am not awake, I too could easily drift into that crowd. As one called to speak not in my own name but in His, I must remain thoroughly awake.
To do this, what I must do first is clear: I must abide completely before the Word of God rather than putting my own thoughts forward. I must lay down my urgency and calculations, and instead listen and obey His commands. Like the lyrics of the worship song, “I will go if You speak, and I will stop if it is not Your will,” I must remain before the Word until He speaks, without being hasty.
I am currently standing at a crossroads of choice. I do not know when that time will be, but the Lord will surely speak. I earnestly pray to be someone who first hears His Word, lives it out in my daily life, and only then shares it with others.