As a friend and I were ending our college career together, we were sitting and talking about next steps. He shared with me that God was calling him to move across the country to go to grad school. At the time, I was a fairly skeptical believer.
I asked, “What’s her name?”
In case you missed the sarcasm here, in my question was the assumption that my friend was not hearing from God. Rather, he had probably just found a girl to follow. So, I just got straight to the point. Of course, if there was a girl, he would confirm what I already believed, most people use God to do what they already want to do. We can’t really hear from God.
My friend responded to the question by telling me the name of a new girl.
Ha! I knew it. He was making this decision not from a spiritual place, but from…somewhere else. Just like most of us, he was not hearing from God, was he?
Can anyone hear from God? Does God speak? How do you know when it is God rather than just your own thoughts?
As I look back on my harsh response to my friend, I see that I was on one extreme. I really did not believe God speaks. I have known other people to error on the other side, that God tells them what socks to wear each day.
We tend toward extremes, rather than a healthy balance. Most people over use “God told me” or they do not use it at all. Jesus says, however, in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to (hear) my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
My pastor encourages us, when praying, instead of assuming we are not hearing God, to assume we are. This was a pivotal change in my perspective on hearing from Jesus. I had always assumed it was the pizza I just ate or something made up or another crazy idea of mine.
As I have aligned my beliefs with Scripture though, I have become more willing to hear from God and feel confident I can move forward. I do not get it right all the time. I am imperfect. When God does speak though, it is wonderful.
Try listening to Jesus this week. When praying for something, instead of assuming it is not God you are hearing, try assuming it is God.
