You’ll Never Hear God Clearly Until You Know He Loves You

Have you been holding God at arm’s length because deep down you’re afraid of what He might say?

Maybe you won’t admit it out loud. But if you’re honest, you’ve dodged the conversation. You’ve buried yourself in distractions. You’ve avoided prayer. Not because you don’t believe in God — but because you’re not sure He’s on your side. Today, that changes.

You won’t run to Someone you’re afraid of.

We’ve been teaching all week about how you can and should hear from God.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Romans 8:14 NKJV

But there’s one hindrance that shuts people down before they ever start looking for God’s voice. It’s not religious tradition. It’s not bad teaching. It’s not even busyness.

It’s the fear that God doesn’t love them.

If you don’t believe God loves you, I completely understand why you’d avoid Him. You’re not going to run toward Someone you think is out to get you. You won’t sit down and ask “Lord, what’s Your will for my life?” if you’re afraid He’s going to hand you something miserable.

The blessings come as a byproduct of the relationship.

Let me tell you about two of my childhood friends — Raleigh and Thomas, twin brothers. Their dad was one of the few doctors in town. And growing up, I needed a lot of medical attention. Stitches almost every week.

Once Raleigh, Thomas, and I became best friends, something funny happened. I started getting free medical care. I’d walk in a side door, get stitched up, walk out. No waiting room. No bill.

Did I become their friend to get free stitches? No. I became their friend because I liked them. The free medical care was a byproduct of the relationship.

Later in high school, I made friends with Ken, a projectionist at the movie theater. Next thing I knew, I had free movie tickets, free popcorn, and free drinks every weekend. Major upgrade for a teenager taking girls on dates. But again — I didn’t befriend Ken for free movies. I befriended him because we liked each other. The blessings followed the relationship.

That’s exactly how it works with God. When your priority is knowing Him, everything else comes as a byproduct. The healings. The answers. The peace. The direction. They’re not the reason for the relationship. They’re the fruit of it.

Some people can’t hear God because they think He’s out to make them miserable.

A guy told me one time, “Do you want to know the will of God? Find the thing you absolutely do not want to do. That’s probably God’s will for your life.”

Who in the world would want a conversation with a God like that?

That’s like having a boss who sits in his office all day thinking up the worst possible assignments to give you. You wouldn’t volunteer for that meeting. You’d hide in the break room. You’d dodge his emails. You’d avoid eye contact in the hallway.

That’s how a lot of believers treat God. And I get it. If I believed He was like that, I’d dodge Him too.

I’ll admit it — I’ve done that. I’ve literally said, “La la la, I don’t want to hear it, Jesus.” When He started talking to me about going on television, I did not want that assignment. I didn’t want my face out there. I didn’t want strangers recognizing me at Walmart. So I ran. Not because God wasn’t good — but because I hadn’t gotten myself together enough to trust that His plan was actually for me, not against me.

That’s what fear does. It makes you avoid the very thing that would bless your life.

God is trying to get you to call Him Daddy.

Read this slowly.

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Romans 8:15–16 NKJV

That word Abba doesn’t mean “Father” in a stiff, formal sense. It means Daddy.

That’s the word God is putting on the inside of you. Not Almighty. Not Sovereign Judge. Not Boss. Daddy.

Why? Because He wants you to relate to Him as a Father who is completely and absolutely in love with you. The kind of Daddy who is for you. The kind who is working every angle of your life for your good. The kind who would never call you into His office just to make you miserable.

When you settle that in your heart, everything changes. You stop dodging His voice and start running toward it.

Love is why He saved you. It’s also why He leads you.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4–7 NKJV

Did you catch that? God’s agenda toward you is kindness. Not punishment. Not pressure. Not misery. Kindness.

So when the Holy Spirit leads you somewhere, where is He leading you? Into His kindness. When He reveals something to you, what’s He revealing? Another layer of His goodness toward you. When He asks you to do something, what’s the destination? Your best possible life.

He’s not your science experiment. You are the apple of His eye.

Peace shows up when you truly know Him.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2 NKJV

Grace and peace get multiplied in the knowledge of God. Not by Him doing more. By you seeing Him for who He really is.

My wife once swore she’d never take an Uber. Stranger danger. Then one night after a canceled flight, I called one — and the driver rolled up looking like a stand-in for Freddy Krueger. She took one look at him and said, “Well, our very first Uber driver is an axe murderer.”

But you know what? She got in the car without hesitation. Why? Because grace and peace were multiplied to her in the knowledge of her husband. She knew what I was capable of. She knew I’d handle any situation that came up.

If you don’t have peace in life right now, it’s not because your circumstances are too big. It’s because your knowledge of God’s love for you hasn’t been multiplied enough yet.

Let Him be Daddy. Then listen.

You’ll never hear God clearly as long as you’re afraid of Him. But the moment you settle the love question — the moment you believe with all your heart that He is completely for you — the door to hearing His voice swings wide open.

Stop running. Stop hiding. Stop dodging the conversation. He’s not a boss looking to make you miserable. He’s Daddy, and He’s in love with you.

Settle the love question. Then listen. Fight To Win.