Walk with me, talk with me
How do I know when God is talking to me?
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This is a pretty deep question. I have asked myself this question many times throughout my life. I think often times we think God will just show up, give us this great epiphany and then go back into hiding. I don't think this is the case at all. In fact, I think God is speaking to us daily.
Christians are called to be followers of Christ. Luke 9:23 says,
"And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
Notice that it calls us to take our cross and follow him daily. In a healthy relationship, there is communication. This is no different than in our relationship with Christ. Obviously communication goes both ways. This is why I believe God is speaking to us quite frequently. John 10:27-28 says,
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
So God is speaking to us all the time, but there are some things that hinder us from hearing his voice, as well as some things that help us hear his voice.
There are two main things that can get in the way of us hearing God's voice. The first thing is sin. Sin separated us from God. The only way to repair the relationship is through Jesus Christ. We must accept him into our hearts as Lord and Savior. Even after we are saved, our sin nature still creeps in. Paul mentioned this in Romans 7:15 when he says,
"I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate."
We are constantly being perfected until the day Jesus comes again. Phillippians 1:6 says it like this:
"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."
The second thing that can get in the way of hearing God's voice is being idle. Some people wait their whole life to hear from God. This is a mistake. In fact, God wants to see what you can do with the little things before he puts you on to bigger things. Matthew 25:23 says,
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
So what can you do to help you hear God's word? As I just mentioned we do not want to be idle. Hearing God's voice is amplified by strengthening our relationship with him. We must read the word daily. God speaks to us through his word. In fact, there are very specific things that God tells us to do. Mark 16:15 says,
"And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone."
This tells us to share the gospel. Another thing the Bible tells us to do is help the poor. Deuteronomy 15:11 says,
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land."
Lastly the Bible tells us to study the word. Joshua 1:8 says,
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
If you want to hear from God, a good place to start is sharing the gospel, helping the poor, and reading his word. When God sees you are being faithful in these few things, he will put you in charge of many things.
Our default action should never be "Do Nothing". Our default should always be "Serve".
