The Voice of Truth
This week I want to talk about two related topics: how does God talk to us and how do we know that it is God talking.
Within the past two weeks I have had numerous people ask questions like, "how does God answer prayers," or "how do I know what God is trying to say," or "how do I know what God wants me to do in this situation?" These questions all are related to the question: how does God speak to us?
This is a list of ways that God spoke to people in the Bible (there may be more, but this is what I found): audible voices, signs, dreams, nature, miracles, giving us peace, and speaking through other people, and through the Bible.
The bad news is that Satan tries to confuse us by using the very same methods. Now we have a problem. How do we know who is speaking to us?
I'll share first: over the past week I've really noticed how spiritually dry I am. My relationship with God is not what it should be right now. In the past three days I've been really convicted of this. I've had this feeling that is telling me that I need to get back on track. Then yesterday afternoon I was over come with a feeling that said "You can't do this. You can't be a youth director, you can't be a spiritual leader, and you are failing in your calling to ministry." This feeling stayed with me for several hours. Then I had to ask myself...who was speaking to me?
I came to see that the initial conviction was from God. My spiritual life is not where it should be right now, and God was reminding me of it. He was being a good coach to me and reminding me to give 100%. This was a reminder that I desperately needed.
However I also saw that the conviction and the voice telling me that I wasn't good enough was not God. The Bible tells us that there is no condemnation for people who are in Christ. It also says that God will complete what He has started in you.
Romans 12:2 tells us that when we renew our minds (prayer and Bible study are two great ways) we will be able to know what God's will is- we will be able to know who is speaking to us.
I'd love to hear any comments, but here is a specific question. Has God ever answered a prayer or spoken to you in one of the ways that was listed earlier? If so, could you share a bit of the story. It is awesome to read how God touches our lives!
posted by Darin @ 5:23 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
HOLY COW, JES AND CONNIE!! So stinking glad that you guys opened your hearts and let us know what's going on with you, REALLY. not just the "Hey, how are you?" "Fine" crap we do at church sometimes. I will keep you both in my prayers about jobs/school/friends/drinking and all the other CRAP that Satan knows where to hit us.
One of my old roomies gave a bible study one time about this subject.. how we really know when God is speaking to us. What she said made a HUGE connection in my head. Okay, when Darin calls me.. he doesn't have to say, "Darce, this is Darin" I KNOW it's Darin because I've heard his voice a million times.. I know his voice because we have a deep relationship. This is the same with Christ.. when I have problems recognizing God's voice and deserning what He's saying, it's because my relationship is not as deep as it should be. When I make time for God, really strive to do what the bible says, pray.. the Holy Spirt is more audible in my life. Just like I know Darin's voice, I can hear God's voice much clearer.
And Darin, sweetie.. DO NOT quit this blog. I've had 3 different friends listed on my blog that have commented on how they ALWAYS read this blog. I just feel like God's saying, "Press on, good and faithful servant, press on". =)
ok, i'm cutting and pasting straight from my blog cause Darin asked if we could share something if God has spoken to us in some way. And it is also a little bit about some of my own struggles. Sorry if its long. Here goes:
Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
This verse spoke volumes to me when I felt scared or worried about my decision to step out of my comfort zone and to leave behind my friends and family and the security of a good job to finish my education. I didn't know anyone in Lafayette anymore and I was older than most of the 'traditional' students. The whole idea of going back was just plain scary. But this verse and also a song by Casting Crowns kept popping into my head. Not only that, they kept appearing in random places whenever I was doubting my decision to go back. One instance that stands out in my head the most was when I took a trip back to Purdue to register for classes. I left early in the morning from Goshen and drove down to Lafayette and visited campus and a day care center for Raegan. The day care was scary! I couldn't imagine leaving my little girl there for hours every day. And being back on campus and feeling so alone on the big campus was overwhelming. But all of a sudden the words to the song I mentioned earlier started playing in my head ....
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"
That was exactly how I felt on that day. I felt scared and I felt like I was gonna fail. But then the chorus to the song followed in my mind ...
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
That very weekend at church the Jeremiah 29:11 verse was displayed on the powerpoint presentation and the song by Casting Crowns was performed by the worship band. I thought, "if this is not a sign from God, I don't know what is ..."
So I listened to God. Raegan and I packed up and last January and we moved to Lafayette. We left our friends and family and my job behind to listen to God.
One thing I've noticed since I've been back at Purdue though is that I've put God on the back burner. He was such a central part of my life before I came back here. He was the center of my life. He was the reason behind my return to to PU in the first place. But once I got here it seemed like I got so busy and caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of college life that I started to forget. The last few weeks that fact has become more and more relevant to me. I've been taking steps to get Him back at the center again. I feel like I'm on my way, but so far they've just been baby steps. I've looked up a few churches online in the Lafayette area and I'm planning to check them out as soon as I'm back after the holidays. Things have just been so hectic this year but that is still no excuse for letting my personal relationship with God suffer. I don't think anyone should ever use the excuse of "I'm too busy to work on a relationship with God." If anything, you should be too busy not to work on that relationship. That is what I have to keep remembering. If I make the time for God, everything else will fall into place.
Wow! Great comments from you all. Thank you so much for sharing. It was a great encouragement to me, and I'm sure it is encouraging to the other readers to see that we all struggle with things.
It is so incredibly cool to read stories of answered prayers! It is so comforting when we know that God is right there with us.
A funny story of how God answered a prayer for me (Connie your story reminded me of this...but don't worry- I didn't say this prayer for you). When I was considering leaving FCA I asked God to show me what to do in an obvious way. I prayed that if He wanted me to get a new job, then He should make me have a bad day at work. Bottom line...It was not just a bad day...it was a terrible day. It all worked out great though. I'm here today because of His answered prayers.
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