Romans 11:34-36 Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has given to Him, that God should owe them? For through him and by him and for him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Could there be a greater statement of indictment? To assume I can with full certainty say, “God has spoken” is simply arrogance. Not that God’s word is not the final authority for life and godliness–but what about the latitudinal decisions of life? Where to work, who to marry, where to live are often the questions that fill the air. For every breath is about the “what next” of life.
I confess I have used and abused statements like, “God told me…”, “I feel like God wants me to…”, “The Holy Spirit spoke to me…”. Not that God isn’t speaking. For certainly when Jesus spoke in John 10, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (10:27) he wasn’t solely referring to the 3 year stint of physical ministry he would have with his early disciples. He was assuming that all followers would know His voice through his Spirit and listen.
Confusion comes in our life in how we evaluate how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. Meaning, when the Holy Spirit speaks through a thought, a feeling, an inclination towards something we instinctively say, “God spoke to me.” Translation, “I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach or a picture popped in my mind and here is what I think is going on, ‘God spoke to me’.” Those experiences are often valid moments of supernatural communication with God. However, there are times when I feel something, want something and are leaning towards something that feels like God, but is NOT God. There are times I get a picture in my mind that is as vivid as a morning sunrise or get the tingles up my spine and they do not translate as an experience with God. Often it just means I have an overactive imagination or need to turn the heat up.
There are 3 questions that need to be asked before responding to what we may consider God’s voice:
1. Does this line up with God’s Word? Obviously, anything we may be feeling or thinking must always find congruency with God’s plan for humanity and our life. If you want to hear God’s voice, start with God’s word. Don’t over think this. Read the bible. Study God word for your life. Respond to his voice found in his revealed Word. Do not start with going off into the woods and sitting on a log and waiting for some far off voice. That will only lead to frustration, confusion and a weirdness that never jives with Jesus’ heart.
2. Are my emotions getting in the way? If you’re in an emotional in-between in life, often what we may hear is not God, but a carnal way out of a difficult situation. Just because you hate your job doesn’t mean that’s a signal from God to begin looking for a new one. Just because you are in a difficult marriage, doesn’t mean you are to get out. Just because you are alone, doesn’t mean God is telling you to sign up for a dating website. Our emotions, though from God and to be honored, are never to be the lens in which we look at situational change for our life. Wait for the emotional highs and lows to level out and then re-evaluate your in-between. Seek wise counsel for change, pray your guts out and expect God to show up.
3. Is what I am hearing cultivating more or less of God’s character in my life? If what you’re sensing leads you to greater levels of trust in Jesus and His Word, leads you into deeper patience for His plan and greater love for people, then it’s probably God. If the voice in your head is leading you to risk more for God’s glory, give more for the love of the poor, get you out of your comfort zone for the expansion of the kingdom, then it’s probably Jesus. But if what you’re hearing is leading you into isolation, constantly reminding you of the faults of others and the brokenness of the Body, then it’s most likely your flesh or the enemy. Embrace the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.”
Let’s listen for God today and go BIG with His plans for His glory!
