that VOICE!

". . . if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments, . . ." Deuteronomy 28:1
Ha! we are such stubborn and obstinate human beings!  Rather than look at this verse to truly understand what God is saying to us, we see it as negative and belittling.
But thank you, Lord, that you ignored my predetermined prejudices and explained it to me anyway.
To "diligently obey" is the same thing we do when we are in the throes of passionate love.  Whatever our lover sputters, is what we will do.  We "diligently obey" without hesitation or question, but rather jump and run to it as fast as our little feet will carry us, in the hopes that it will bring great pleasure to this greatly loved One and show them how true and deep our love has grown.  The "voice" of our lover is of such great importance, that the mere sound of it on the phone, for instance, causes our heart to bound as though it would jump out of our chest.  This is what God had in mind when this phrase was penned.
Then to continue: "to observe carefully all His commandments".  God's great love being also as one of a thrilled lover, was intended to offer us the "recipe" of how success of life on His earth is achieved - or rather "received".  He was sharing His secrets with His most beloved.  And He did it in a very simple way.
#1 this is how you get success in everything and #2 this is how to completely destroy your life.  All of life and the world was created WITH Him, and IN Him.  Therefore, to love Him is to also receive His love.
Again, very simple.
The first step is 'hearing His voice'.  If this isn't something that you can conceive, or accomplish with steady and regular occurrence; then HOW will any of the rest of His instructions be of any real use?  We can discuss and banter it about between ourselves; but without His input . . . the rest just becomes a bit of a waste of time.
Like talking ABOUT your lover to someone else; say a friend.  "So what do you think He will think if I do this?"  And they answer with their ideas and thoughts.  You can discuss it for hours and even come to a conclusion.  Or in the case of Theology; we go to the most thoroughly educated; the ones who have studied the Word in every way possible for the whole of their lives and have studied others who have done the same.
But cut to the chase and go directly to your lover and ask the same question.  The answer can very likely be completely different than what you and your friend concluded.
It's the same with God's Word; His instructions about life, and His personality.  You can get a bazillion different ideas and thoughts - you probably have construed a few of your own.  But it doesn't mean diddly squat.  The truth about a matter is in God's mind.  You can misunderstand and misconstrue His Word.
But talking to someone face to face brings the facts and the truth to complete light and understanding.  That light bulb comes on - and the Word is suddenly very clear.
Why?
Because you can hear the heart.  Through inflection, demeanor, and actions - we glean tons of information.
It's the same way hearing God's voice.  He also has inflection, demeanor, and actions.  When He talks, we gain much more than just the words.  We suddenly UNDERSTAND the Words.
So, again, thank you, Lord, for pressing me on this.  I thought I was over this hump long ago; and yet you have shown me very recently, a much keener and defined "listening" than I've known before.  Rather than hearing from you once a month, or once a week, or even once a day . . . you have shown me a constant moment by moment throughout the day kind of communication.
The verse written at the beginning goes on to promise some very profound blessings.  They are every blessing that we could ever conceive to desire for our life and our families lives.  But the key is to 'hear that voice' first.
Hear it like you hear your Beloved.  The sweetest sound any of us will ever know.