So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

We all have our ideas of what we want to hear or think we need to hear. But when God speaks, He chooses what He wants to say.

Imagine going to church next week and the preacher gets up and speaks from 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season…” You wonder what this could possibly have to do with you—you’re not a preacher. But then the Holy Spirit speaks to you about doing this “…with great patience,” and you see some areas of your life where you are impatient.

You likely didn’t go to church thinking about patience. You weren’t feeling a need in regard to patience. You weren’t aware of a lack of patience in your life, but God spoke to you about patience through 2 Timothy 4:2.

You might be thinking, “I woke up this morning, and I’m facing all these things in my life. A devotional on how to hear the Word of God is not what I need right now.” Can you consider the possibility, friend, that it may be exactly what you need?

God may be saying to you, “Instead of looking for a quick fix to the problems in your life, you need to establish a regular pattern of receiving My word with faith, so that it will bear long-term fruit that you have not been bearing in years.” You never know what God is going to say to you, but you know He is going to say it through His Word.

Are you telling God what you “need to hear” or are you letting Him set the agenda?