Hearing From God

Hearing From God .... The Good, The Bad, and Everything In Between

What makes hearing from God so complicated? Wouldn't you just love to wake up to a heavenly email every morning? You could go to your computer, get your messages, and there you'd have your directions for the day all mapped out.

What a concept...I might even carry a pager for emergencies just in case God needed to interrupt me in the middle of all my "important stuff".

Hearing from God can come in many forms. Because He's free to use whatever He chooses, it isn't always easy to recognize Him, especially when He's doing something through someone you don't like.....It's hard to be corrected by your boss when you tend to think you know more than he/she does.

Of course, we're extremely lucky God doesn't choose to be overly dramatic with us...like the time he sent down hoards of locusts on the Egyptians because they weren't listening and doing what He said to do. They finally said they'd listen, and then changed their minds. So God just kept on sending all sorts of nasty stuff until they finally got the message.

Sometimes I think we're not that different from the Egyptians. God tries all kinds of things to get through to us, and fortunately for us, we don't have angry locusts chasing us down.

God....Is that YOU?

I remember when I started this website. I wasn't sure I heard from God until I stepped out and started the process. Little by little, God showed me the direction He wanted this site to take. But the trick was and still is, to KEEP LISTENING.

We are always hearing from God, but in lots of different ways. Here are just a few:

The people in your life. Hearing from God can be as simple as your spouse giving you an opinion about what you're doing. If you're not sure about what you're doing, check God's Word. If it doesn't fit into what's in that book, don't do it.

Your circumstances. Sometimes the things you want are the exact opposite of what God knows is best for you. Trusting God means letting Him control your circumstances so the exact thing you need most will come to you at the exact time you need it. Some call it coincidence...the Word says it's God.

Your prayers. Hearing from God during your daily prayer time can be just as good as getting that daily heavenly email. You may see something in God's Word that just jumps right off the page, or you might hear something in your spirit that you just know is from God. It takes a little practice and patience, but hearing from God can be learned just like any other skill.

That still small voice. Most of the time God speaks to us in that still, small voice. Some call it conscience...I call it being led by the Holy Spirit, or following the "voice of peace". Either way, it's that persistent knowing, that constant correction that lets you know if you've strayed off the path. Hopefully, you listen and make the correction BEFORE you hit the ditch.

The audible voice. Sometimes you just know you're hearing from God in a real voice. It doesn't happen a lot, but sometimes God just wants to make sure we don't miss the message.

Yes.....I Hear You, God!

A few months ago I was traveling with my son when he was auditioning at potential music schools. We come from a smaller area so driving in bigger cities isn't exactly my favorite activity. But my son was navigating and we arrived at our destination in the middle of downtown Minneapolis, Mn.
While we waited for the audition, we sat in a lounge with lots of overstuffed chairs, where we put all our belongings. When it was my son's turn, we eagerly followed up the stairs to the audition area.

When the audition was over we left to visit my brother who was about an hour out of Minneapolis. After a few minutes on the road, a detour came out of nowhere and we ended up on the wrong road. But I could see a way to turn around and there was a restaurant there so we decided to stop and eat before we left. As I reached to get my purse, panic struck. My purse wasn't there. I left it at the audition place. It was now dark, and I had no money, credit cards, or ID.

At that point God spoke to me through my son. He kept repeating that we'd find the purse, that it would be all in tact, and everything would turn out fine. So we decided to drive back to the audition place, even though the building might be closed and of course, we might get lost.

When we finally made our way back, the building happened to be open, and my purse happened to be sitting in the lounge tucked between the chairs, untouched. Needless to say....I wanted to cry because I felt so relieved.

Was it all coincidence? It think not. It isn't a matter of whether God is speaking, it's whether we are listening.

How Do You Find Life Balance and Purpose?

Starting a Conversation with God

More help on Hearing from God

Also, take a look at an article I authored for www.christianity.about.com. Mary Fairfield does a wonderful job on this site. Here's my article.

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