When God Speaks: How to Recognize God’s Voice and Respond in Obedience
What He Sees From There – I keep coming back to that song this week. Once again, Blackaby takes the opportunity to remind us that our perspective is very limited and that God’s perspective is truth. As Jesus said in John 14:6:
Jesus told him, “I am k the way, l the truth, and the life.
I thought that Blackaby had a good point on this. He pointed out that this is not only a doctrine of the faith but an everyday truth. Jesus is the way through your circumstances, whether good or bad. In The Message, Peterson puts it this way:
Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life.
Talk about the road less traveled. I’m going to remind myself of that until it sinks in. Jesus is the truth for my day, not just my faith.
In one exercise, Blackaby lays out a series of verses to read, writing besides each one of them whether you are experiencing the truth in them in your life. Interesting exercise.
- John 14:12-14
- Romans 8:32
- Romans 8:37-39
- Philippians 4:6-7
- Philippians 4:13
As I read and meditated on each one of those, it hit me how wrong the health/wealthers are. Totally awesome how that works.
John 14:12-14 I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Romans 8:32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?
Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:13 I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.
I am so glad you are sharing this here. I am benefiting. Thank you
Dave, You sent me the link that led me to your blog during yesterday’s correspondence about the Zach Martin/Pit bull case. My daughter’s young friend is a footnote in the periphery of my life, the last six-eight months of which have been the worst of by orders of any magnitude. The exact subject and words you have written/about the 22nd and 23ird are the second of two indescribably mind-bending and otherwise unexplainable events that could have only have been directed by the God that I absolutely rejected; without regrets or even anger- I was reared by agnostics, I simply had quietly decided that given the evidence, the concept of God was a cultural construct. Now, I have to accept that these events are supposed to save my sanity, if not my life, which I had come to no longer care about. This “second event”, the words you wrote and referred to, were so incisively specific in timing, to the nuances of my spiritual death, not that I minded my “spiritual death” AT ALL… The first shocking and powerful and unmistakably direct event (last week) restored my belief that God exists at all, and left me still angry and empty and asking “so, OK, God, you exist. So what? So you felt it was important for a privileged middle-aged heartbroken defeated crusader to know that. Now what? God-that-exists, how about rescuing some abused and starving child or intervening the last few seconds an unborn one has to live inside his mother instead of orchestrating this staggering and unambiguous experience for me, who has not and is not being starved, abandoned, murdered…? OK, Creator of the Universe…exactly WHAT NOW?
This second event just happened. Still reeling. Obviously I need to hear from you.