When God Speaks: How to Recognize God’s Voice and Respond in Obedience
I guess that I could say that today’s’ theme was, “when God speaks, life happens”. He used two illustrations, one from Luke 7:14-5 when Jesus resuscitated a young man (his mother was a widow and this was her only son, further illustrating how much Jesus cares about our personal needs – that was mine, don’t blame it on the book), the second from Ezekiel when he raised ‘dem dry bones. Life happens when God speaks.
I think the line I remembered most though was the opening one:
God does not speak to us merely so we can have a warm, devotional thought.
How true! When God speaks to us, we need to DO SOMETHING! We get so wrapped up in this “personal relationship” with Christ that we lose our awe. After Jesus resuscitated the boy, FEAR gripped the people and they fell in worship to God. That is sorely lacking in our churches and living rooms today.
I had to laugh when I came to a section about listening to others when they say God spoke to them. The question was, how do you react when someone tells you God spoke to them? Well, I had to answer honestly, no? So I had to say I’m skeptical and treat them with disdain and disbelief. In other words, I laugh at them.
Wow, that hit home pretty hard. If I laugh at people who say that God spoke to them, how the heck can someone like CH believe them? I mean, God speaks to me! He does! Stop laughing and being skeptical!
So yeah, that one hurt. Hurt so much that I called CH and laughed with him about it. I think he was afraid to admit that he was skeptical but when I laughed with him, it was okay. How does God speak to me? The best word I can come up with is “impression”. When the Holy Spirit is leading me to do something, it’s an “impression” that I feel.
No, I don’t hear some James Earl Jones type of voice. But I clearly hear God speaking to me through the Holy Spirit. I’m going to work on believing others when they tell me they heard something from God. And pray for a lot of discernment!
I believe that when God speaks to us individually, we can never convince someone else that “He” spoke to us. Maybe we shouldn’t try. Maybe we shouldn’t even use the words “God spoke to me”. The proof that God spoke to us is only manifested when we act on what He said and He produces “fruit” or results from that action that are clearly God.
I think that sometimes people tell others that God spoke to them out of pride, trying to prove their closeness to God.
Maybe we (those of us who think that we have a “word” from God) should shut up and be doers of the “word” and let that speak for itself.
Just my thoughts….Lovin YOU! SU