And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

Sometimes, God does impress something on our hearts that requires us to take action in faith. When Susan and I were living in Mississippi and God impressed on my heart to move to Massachusetts for Seminary, we didn’t have a job offer. But, I was convinced that we would be working at Gordon College and I would be going to Gordon-Conwell Seminary. We expected to be offered a job in March and to make the move in June. No offer came.

We were visiting Susan’s parents in Houston, saying our goodbyes before heading north to live. I was seeking to be obedient and to respond to God’s leading in faith.

Susan asked me, “Where are we going to live? And, what are we going to do for work?”

I said, “We’re going to live and work at Gordon College.”

Understandably, Susan responded: “They said we would hear by April if we had the job. Now it’s June and we still haven’t heard.”

“God told me to go to Massachusetts and work at Gordon College. If I’m wrong, you can put me in a mental hospital. Either God told me this or I’m nuts.”

I was grateful that Susan was willing to go with me, but I was feeling a bit desperate. I asked Susan to join me in prayer. As I closed the prayer in which I pleaded with God to open the door to the job at Gordon College, Susan’s mother called from inside the house to tell her there was a telephone call.

The new Dean of Students at Gordon College explained that the reason for the delay in his call was that his predecessor, who had interviewed us, had resigned. Rather than selecting new employees himself, the former dean had decided to let his successor choose from the pool of prospective candidates. The new dean offered the job to us. He didn’t offer what I was expecting; instead, he offered us an even better job, living in a nicer dorm.

God vindicated my sense of His leading; but I knew it was God directing me, not only because the direction was consistent with Scripture, but, ultimately, I knew it was God when it came to pass.

Some years ago, a man told me he was divorcing his wife, because she’d had an abortion. I told him how sorry I was about the abortion, but still I asked, “Why are you divorcing her?”

“Because she killed my son.”

“When did this happen?”

“I don’t know exactly.”

“How do you know it happened? Did she say it happened?”

“No, she swears she didn’t do it.”

“How do you know she had an abortion?”

“Because God told me I was going to have a son this year. The year is almost over, and she’s not pregnant. So, I know she must have aborted our child.”

I tried to explain to the man that what he thought was God’s answer to his prayer was really just wishful thinking on his part. If God says something is going to happen, it will happen. God is sovereign. Apparently, God had not told him he was going to have a son.

However, I told this man that he knows objectively from Scripture that God has commanded him not to divorce his wife. Except for very specific reasons, infidelity or desertion, he is to remain married to his wife. Failing to give her husband a son does not give him grounds for divorce.

If God had spoken to this man and told him his wife would give him a son within the year, his wife would have had a child, and it would have been a boy. God’s power to foretell the future and bring His will to pass is far greater than this man’s wife’s ability to sin.

What have we learned? There are two very important ways of testing the spirits to see if our impressions are of God.

First, it’s important to learn to recognize God’s voice. The best way to recognize God’s voice is through studying His word. There are many things in the Bible God has already made very clear, and God will never contradict Himself. If the Bible says do it, we must. If the Bible says don’t do it, we must not.

Second, when the Bible doesn’t specifically address the issue at hand, we can know whether or not God is speaking to us on these specific matters — such as marriage partner, home purchase, career moves, etc. — by whether or not what we believe He has told us to do actually happens. Again, this is only when dealing with issues that are not moral in nature. God has spoken in His word of everything we need to know to obey Him in decisions concerning moral choices.

Jeremiah knew what it was to listen for the voice of God, to do what God said, and to proclaim the word of the Lord to others. Yet, Jeremiah says that it wasn’t until after what he was expecting came to pass, “then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.”

When you are convinced that you have heard the voice of God, you must then walk by faith. I would rather have my Shepherd correct me because I foolishly missed His leading than to be disciplined for refusing to obey.

Often, it is our own self-righteousness and fear of failure that paralyzes us, creating indecision, when the Lord is urging us to step out in faith, following His still, small voice. If our desire is to do God’s will, regardless of the cost, then we can trust our loving Father to direct us. The Great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, will not abandon us as we seek to do His will. Don’t be afraid to be wrong. We will be wrong sometimes. But, when one of my own sons makes a mistake while trying to obey me, I am not angry with him. However, I would be very disappointed if any of them refused to do what I told them out of fear.

Remember as you listen for God to speak to you, He will never contradict Scripture. If God is speaking to you, what He says He will do will happen. The more we practice praying and listening for God to speak to us, the easier it becomes to recognize His voice and direction. The more we listen and obey, the more familiar He sounds. Discernment requires practice.

God loves us, and He wants to commune with us. He wants to bless and use us for His glory. However, some messages are easier to hear than others. Are you listening?

 

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BOOK:

Hearing His Voice

The Life of PRAYER
Book 2