“God told me…”
“God said to me….”
“The Lord told me to…”
How do you respond to these phrases? We all probably have a gut reaction to these words, depending on our history and our current beliefs.
I used to think, “Oooo, this one hears from God! Wow!” Then it became more of, “Ohhh-kay, watch out for this one.” Now I think I’ve settled in a happy middle, hopefully having grown in discernment and in respect for God’s individual relationships with people.
I do believe that God communicates with us today. Sometimes though we can struggle to understand Him. Kind of like a recent conversation between my son and granddaughter:
Brian to Eloise: Why did you hit Hudson?
E: Mommy cut the flowers. (Looking at the flowers on the table her mom had bought)
Brian: What does it mean to obey?
E: I’m a frog.
Sometimes trying to understand God’s ways can be as confusing as talking with a 3-year-old.
I’d like to share a few examples of what hearing God could be like that might make it a bit easier to recognize His voice.
I was at a ladies retreat recently. As I was listening to one speaker and taking notes, all of what she said was good, but 3 or 4 different times the truth of what she said resonated within me. It was related to things I’m going through right now. It spoke wisdom to questions I’ve had recently. All within a Biblically sound framework, some with Scripture references but many without and just based on wisdom gained by the teacher’s lifetime of knowing and serving the Lord. She doesn’t know me from Adam, and there were about 600 women there, yet those words spoke to me. I received them as encouragement from the Lord. And later from other teachers, there was also correction, exhortation, some breaking down and some building up. All work that the Holy Spirit was making real to me as I listened. (Thank you, Jesus!)
Another perfect example can be found in this post on contentment from my daughter-in-law (read: gift-to-our-family) Jenny’s website. I highly recommend you read the whole thing, but there’s a certain part that’s applicable here:
“During our ladies Wednesday morning Bible study, our Pastor’s wife, Carrie, (Hi, Carrie!) mentioned to be careful not to make earth heaven for yourself or your children. I can’t remember what the Bible study was on, but this is the little nugget I took away from it the most and it has stuck with me since.”
I believe that this nugget that stuck with her was the Holy Spirit gently, lovingly communicating with her while He was also providing the grace to receive His direction and respond with obedience.
No earth-shattering thunder. Just a still small voice.
I believe that God communicates with us primarily through His Word. Daily devotional reading through the books of our beloved Bibles as well as being involved in more intensive study are both, in my opinion, vital to a flourishing, joyful walk with God. I would go further to say that understanding the Word is necessary to understanding when God reveals Himself in other ways. Ninety-something percent of the time, my communication from God has come in the morning, in my quiet time, while I’m focused and He breathes life into His written word.
But I pray that I can have ears to hear when He takes that Word and silently, personally speaks its message to my heart and mind through a teaching or a book or a movie, during a hike with my husband in the woods, or through a conversation…maybe even a conversation with a 3-year-old.
Has God’s still small voice spoken into your life? A word of caution or encouragement? A word of correction or affirmation? It’s good to know that any time He speaks, it’s for our good! Feel free to share…
Leave a Reply