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| Photo courtesy of endtimesbibleprophecy.wordpress.com |
We are focusing this week on how God speaks to us in the context of relationship. Earlier this week we looked at how we as believers can discern God's will for our lives, as described by George Müller. Then we took a quick look at how God's voice differs from Satan's voice. One thing we know for sure is that God is faithful to speak to His sheep and His sheep know His voice (John 10). But how does God speak to His people? I have never heard an audible voice coming down from the heavens, have you? Well, the Scriptures are definitely not silent about this vital aspect of our love relationship with Him.
If we were to do a quick survey of the Scriptures, several patterns would appear regarding how God speaks to His children. First of all, God speaks uniquely and personally. From talking donkeys to burning bushes, angels to quiet whispers, God speaks differently to each person and does not limit Himself to a particular method. God also speaks progressively and consistently. He might reveal one action step to an individual, and then at a later time, reveal more to that person. His subsequent instructions are always consistent with his previous instructions, and they are always in alignment with His character and His word. God also speaks faithfully to His people throughout the ages. What He says goes as He is Sovereign; His Word is truth and ultimately reliable. God also speaks unmistakably. Never do we see in Scriptures that people are confused as to whether or not it was God who was speaking to them! These people also knew what God was saying. Their question was never, Is God speaking to me? but, How will I respond to what God is telling me? Which brings me to my next point....
So what are we to do when God speaks? I love how Henry Blackaby puts it: "Once God speaks to us, we cannot remain the same." You see, since Creation, people have responded to a word from God in one of two ways. They either rejected His message or they accepted it. To again quote Blackaby, "When God speaks, neutrality is not an option. A response is unavoidable, and the condition of people's hearts is revealed in that response" (Hearing God's Voice). I love how Mark Twain put it, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand." How true! How often do we KNOW what God says to us and yet we do not want to obey it in our lives! Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word for hear or listen means "to make a response." That is the word Jesus used prior to His parables. "Listen!" He'd begin...or "Him who has ears, let him hear!" He would end. But He is more accurately translated as saying, "Respond!" And the beautiful part is that God's Spirit not only reveals God's will but also enables us to respond in obedience! We will definitely have to save that entire discussion for another blog post, but suffice it to say that God DOES speak to us and it WILL require obedience from us.
Let me close with one final thought. We must always remember that we do not "figure out" God. No...He reveals Himself to us by the Holy Spirit. In fact, without the Holy Spirit, no one would understand God's will (Rom. 3:10-11, John 6:44, Rom. 8:5-8) and we would be without hope! So how does this revelation consistently take place? As Blackaby writes, "The best way to hear God speak to you is to spend regular time reading, studying, and meditating on his Word. God speaks through the Bible in clear, understandable language. The first step in knowing God's will for your life is to carefully obey every revelation of his that you find in the Bible." There's that obedience issue again! Blackaby later emphasizes,"It is foolish for someone to seek God's will but neglect the regular reading of his Word. There God most clearly speaks to people." As we know more of the Scriptures, we are establishing for ourselves a "vocabulary" through which the Holy Spirit can speak to us about God's truth and His will. Filtered through God's Word, even the material world can be the means to commune with God, as the Holy Spirit speaks to us through nature, His people (the Church), and our circumstances. And as we've discussed before, that is truly living the abundant life!
**If you wish to learn more about how God speaks to His children there are three resources I'd highly recommend to you--one is a book and two are Bible studies. The first is Hearing God's Voice by Henry and Richard Blackaby (book; quoted above), the second is Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God by Henry and Richard Blackaby (Bible study), and the third is Secrets Jesus Shared: Kingdom Insights Revealed through the Parables by Jennifer Kennedy Dean (Bible study).
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