For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though no one perceives it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds,
he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride, Job 33:14-17 (NLT)
Eunice texted me and asked if I had heard from Kathy. It had actually been a while since any of us had heard from Kathy. Months probably. Kathy attended weekly Bible Study with us and was a new believer in Jesus. Her job had become very demanding and she couldn’t join any more. Then, the Bible Study group morphed into the Church Plant (Called2Be) and we lost track of her.
Eunice said that she’d been thinking about her and reached out but got no response. Funny thing was I was thinking about her too. God put Kathy on both of our hearts. So at Eunice’s prompting, I reached out as well. Kathy responded. She is now joining Called2Be’s weekly Bible Study. Do you think God was speaking to Eunice and me? I do.
God speaks to us in so many different ways. Sometimes, it is in an impression. Sometimes in a conviction. I’ve had Him speak to me in dreams. And I know other people have experienced Him in circumstances or visions. He definitely speaks to us through His Word and through each other.
Question is, are we listening? Do we really believe that He speaks and are we intent on hearing what He has to say? And the follow up question to that is when we hear him, do we obey?
I get impressions that I know are God. A lot of times these are things I am being told to do that I don’t want to do. That’s how I know it’s Him. I know that sounds odd but when I feel convicted to do something I don’t want to do, I know it’s not me.
Other times I’ll get impressions that are just off-the-wall. For example, yesterday I had the impression that I was supposed to go to BJs (warehouse type store). I didn’t need anything from BJs. I had no reason to go but all morning the thought kept popping into my head. So I went. Nothing happened. I walked around the store a couple of times with my cart. Went to look for some things that I knew I wanted to buy to see if they had them (they didn’t).
Was God in that impression? Should I have gone to BJs? I’m not an expert at hearing God’s voice but here is what I’ve learned. When I think it’s Him but I’m not sure, I follow what I am hearing. Here’s why. There have been times I didn’t follow and I realized later it was God trying to get me to do something. There were times I did listen and I could see his fingerprints all over the situation. (I love it when that happens.) Personally, I’d rather follow and not know on what’s going on rather than miss out on a God experience altogether. Notice I said “not know what’s going on?” That’s because I know from experience that just because I can’t see what He’s doing, it doesn’t mean He isn’t doing something. He is always doing something. I just can’t always see it.
What’s the take away? God is always speaking to his children through many, many methods. The way He speaks to me is going to be different than the way He speaks to you. One thing though that we all need to do is listen. Listen intently to hear what he’s saying. Carve out time to hear Him without a lot of distractions. And when you hear him, obey.
So today, if you come across a talking donkey on the side of the road, don’t pass by thinking “that’s crazy.” Stop and talk to the donkey. You never know how God is going to show up.