I am amazed at the number of Christians I see flock to the latest sensation in the Christian world, or those paying hundreds of dollars to see the spiritual elite, or can't wait for the release of the next best selling bible study. Eager for a word that is going to transform their lives and put them on the path God Himself has chosen for them to travel, people will go to great extremes to hear the voice of God.

I'm not knocking those writers, speakers or performers. I think we need to take a closer look at the attenders…us.

Why are we so eager attend to these events to hear God, yet, so unwilling to be eager to hear God right where we are. I think about the apostle Paul, if it were possible for Paul have an event today he would sell out arenas all over the world. Why? Because he is a proven man of God. But he didn't start out like that. Actually, Paul started out in the Christian world as a deserter. After the emergence of the church, Saul (Paul) began persecuting the church. After he received letters from the high priest to the Damascus synagogues giving him permission to capture Christians and return them to Jerusalem, he abandoned the task. Now, we celebrate this desertion of duties and it was the right choice to make, but Paul did not enter into the Christian arena as a celebrated, decorated man of God. He was a persecutor of the church.

Then I look at the other men we celebrate today and see what they were when Jesus called them. Fishermen, tax collectors, sinners, men not concerned about the Godly way of life, career focused, living for the day not concerned about tomorrow, not concerned about others. Ok, maybe I'm reading into them more than is actually there but the fact is, these were normal everyday men. Nothing special about them. They probably loved their family and friends, loved to have people over to their home and grill out, watch the kids play, kick back and work on the camels…I don't know, but the were probably no different from you and me.

That's where scripture comes in, "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 God chose the normal everyday people. People who know you, know your life, know what it is like to struggle to make ends meet, know what a horrible boss can do to your day, what it's like to have to drop off three kids and be late for work everyday…God chose people like you and me.

So, instead of waiting to expect to hear the voice of God in the "spiritual elite," expect to hear the voice of God today through those He has placed around you. Expect to express the voice of God to your family, friends, coworkers. As Henry Blackaby puts it in Experiencing God, "God is at work all around you, join Him."