When God Speaks

2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (NLT)

Today’s devotion is inspired by a conversation I had with my colleague yesterday. I’m not going to share the story she told me out of respect of the person’s privacy, but my colleague’s concern was that this person keeps claiming they’re hearing from God about what to do in their circumstance, yet what this person is saying is contrary to God’s character and His counsel to us in His Word. The one example my colleague used is, God is not going to tell you to go after someone else’s husband – that is contrary to His Word. God speaks and the enemy speaks. We need wisdom and discernment to know when we are truly hearing from God. The best way to know if God is speaking to you directly or through someone else is to first pray about the message and judge it against the Word of God, is it godly, just, pure, true, holy, etc.? 1 John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world” (NLT).

Additionally, God generally speaks in a still small voice. We are always seeking a sign of some sort to confirm that God has spoken, but we see in 1 Kings 19:11-12, God revealed Himself in a gentle whisper. Be careful of putting so much emphasis in receiving a miraculous answer from God that you miss Him in what you would consider a “small” act.