Hearing From God...Maybe?

This weekend a couple of you asked, "How do I know if this 'voice' this push or desire is coming from God?"  Great question.  I believe hearing from God get's easier over time as you grow in your relationship with him.  You learn to recognize His voice - the way he communicates with you.  It's kind of like hearing a strange voice when you answer the phone - you have to ask, "Who is this?"  Compare that to picking up the phone and hearing someone you've known for 10-15 years as they ask, "How's it going?"  You don't have to wonder who - you just know their voice.

That being said, here are five questions we should all ask when it comes to hearing from God.*

1.             God is this really you?  We have a lot of voices speaking into our lives and most of them are not God's.  So ask God, "Does this prompting / idea come from you?"  Does it line up with God's character - who He is?

2.              Does it line up with the Bible?  The Bible gives us a number of examples of how God would respond to certain situations in life.  Those examples are seen through His son Jesus.  Check every voice, push or whisper you think might be coming from God with the thematic teaching of Scripture.  

3.             Is it wise?  When God speaks, it rarely (notice I didn't say never) goes against wisdom and common sense.  Throughout Scripture God encourages us to be wise and warns us against the dangers of foolishness.  The problem is we often bypass wise looking for a quick or easy decision.

4.             Does it connect with my character - who I am?  I get nervous when people jump at a voice that is encouraging them to go against the way they are wired, expertise and life experience.  I'm not saying that God doesn't ask us to take a 180...but most often when he does, it get's confirmed in multiple ways.  So look for the confirmation.

5.             What do the people I love and trust think?  This is the concept of wise counsel.  When you sense God moving, talk to 2-3 people.  Choose people that have more life...more Jesus experience than you do.  Describe the situation...give them the story and then ask, "Could God be speaking here or do you think I'm missing something?"  Then listen.  Just asking this question has kept me from making some huge mistakes in my life.

*Taken in part from Bill Hybel's book, The Power Of A Whisper: Hearing God, Having The Guts To Respond.