God Speaks

 

How often do we hear someone say, “God told me to…”? Or, God has called me to this or that and not to that or this?

Do you ever wonder how they know? Why are they so sure?

As I study the scriptures, I can see that He speaks to us and we can know, for sure, that it is Him.

I have testified before that when God was calling me to faith a few years ago, He clearly showed me my sin. I was not nearly as surprised by my sin as I was that God was pointedly communicating to me that what I had was a sinful heart. I also understood that I was responsible for it before Him.

Biblically, some had it easy, like Moses (Exodus 33:11) and Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:23) as God spoke directly to them. Paul had a personal encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus – and he was sure because Christ identified himself in word and by signs (Acts 9).

Mary, the mother of Jesus, the wise men (Matthew 2:2) and Joseph, Jesus’ father, all heard from God in undeniable ways.

So, how do we know when we are hearing from God? I can tell you that when God convicted me of the sin, He also reminded me, in that moment, that I had asked Him to show me my sin. I prayed and He answered. (Matthew 7:11)

Other times, concerning other things, like a ministry opportunity or what to say in certain situations, I have not been as sure. I do believe the scriptures give us four ways to test what we think God is saying:

1. Check it with scriptures. God will not defy His own Word. (He won’t tell us to marry an unbeliever or to flirt with a married man, to get money for a ministry unethically or to sin for our own gain in any way.) (1 John 4:1, John 17:17)
2. Seek wise counsel from other solid believers. (Proverbs 15:22, Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.) Be ready to change direction if Christian wisdom does not line up with the plan.
3. Pray for clarity and truth. Our God is a God of truth and when we seek it, He will give it. (John 16:13, John 17:17, John 8:31-32)
4. This one is kind of subjective, but if there “feels” like there is urgency and you must make a decision this moment, based on less than all the information you need, it is probably not of God. He is not in a hurry. We cannot resist His promptings forever, but He will wait while we seek advice or determine to wait for His confirmation or more information. (Luke 14:28)

We are more likely to question Him and not obey, than we are to trust Him, and follow. That’s our flesh.  But in our faith, we can be confident that He has given us the resources to know, for sure, that we are following Him.

What has God communicated to you or me that we have not obeyed?

Will we do what He says or go where He sends us?