Category: christian living

How We Hear God

Michael8 Comments
Kenneth Spencer, NC
Kenneth Spencer, NC

Do you hear God’s voice? How do you know that you’ve heard his voice and not that of another or yourself? I think we’ve all been here, and many Christians are still perplexed on the matter. Hear Corrie Ten Boom from her book Not I, But Christ:

“If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in his presence until he changes this uncertainty. Often much can happen during this waiting for the Lord. Sometimes, he changes pride into humility; doubt into faith and peace; sometimes lust into purity. The Lord can and will do it.”

“…In Divers Manners Spake”

God speaks. The comforting thing is all of us hear him. Knowing that we do and liking what we hear is something different. Also, God speaks in many ways. Let’s talk about these.

  • Scripture. This is the foremost way any of us hear God’s voice. We call it the ‘Word’ because it is the expression and full estimation of God’s mind, will, and heart for us humans. From it we draw conclusions about life. We should not only read scripture, but also study it, for by it we grow close to God.
  • People. We hear God speak to us through our fellowship with the body of believers and through sermons and studies. Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline discusses guidance and explains a rich but lost spiritual act of bringing our concerns and afflictions before small groups of believers and therein finding the will of God. Further, God can speak through anyone, not just believers. Have you ever prayed and the answer came from one you could never have suspected? God may be answering you.
  • Events and Circumstances. The doctrine of providence helps us see that nothing is outside of God’s control; so why can’t events and events in our lives be used to answer our prayers? Sometimes God takes us on a journey, one of applied faith, the outcome of which is a deeper trust in him. We discover that he only desires our best and is sometimes trying to build more in us than our meager need for a problem solved.
  • Inner Voice. Sometimes this is expressed in different ways—a godly conscience or impressions or a strong weighing on the mind and heart. This accords with a life of devoted study of the scriptures and a heart continually seated before God’s throne. Personally, should I hear something I’m not sure about, I have a habit of shelving these impressions until I get further clarity. Also, it’s never a bad idea to share these things with godly believers through whom Christ can direct you.
  • Visions and Dreams. Some people limit God’s voice to the Bible and perhaps personal impressions. Occurrences like prophetic gifts and personal revelations, like dreams, are out of the question. But I believe that these methods are still in operation, having experienced them myself. Nevertheless, we should be cautious. Most dreams don’t have a spiritual meaning, or any. I discourage most books that attempt to interpret things beheld in dreams. Visions can range from fleeting mental ones to open visions and heavenly rapture. A person should consider such experiences graces afforded to them by God.

The Goal of Hearing

Mathieu Jarry, NC-ND
Mathieu Jarry, NC-ND

After sincerely sharing our concerns with the Lord, we should listen and watch for his answer, like Corrie Ten Boom explains. We should discipline ourselves to listen because prayer is never just us speaking to him, for he desires to talk to us. So the fact that God answers is not special.

Moreover, prayer changes us in its process. I wonder if God purposely waits at times to get us focused on him before he responds, however he does. Ultimately, hearing God’s voice is about posture. The corollary of prayer is relationship. Prayer builds dynamic relationship and relationship enhances dynamic prayer. Brother Lawrence’s suggestion in The Practice of the Presence of God is right, indeed all the Christian devotional masters are, and we dare not miss it: spiritual disciplines and graces are but a means to an end, and that is God himself.

Never Forget

Michael4 Comments
Kendra Miller, ND
Kendra Miller, ND

In the final scenes of The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta peer into the countryside from the train that returns them to their district. Peeta asks Katniss, “What do we do now?” She replies, “I guess we try to forget.” Peeta and Katniss have literally had to fight for their lives and have discovered love in the process. Their experience has been incredibly tough, one that wasn’t asked for but chosen for them by lottery. Peeta responds: “But I don’t want to forget.”

I watched that scene and instantly noticed the parallels. I’ve had tough times and we all do. Let me share some points this scene rehearses for me.

  • Never forget the days that humble you. In fact, they’re unforgettable because they’re often full of pain that grinds us down in positive ways we don’t realize until months and years later. We shouldn’t forget these periods because God, in his providence, oftentimes orders our steps through these places, always with a purpose and providing for our safety. We must embrace these tough times for the spiritual training they provide and certainly as grace afforded us. I’ve learned to thank God for the hard times in my life. I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything now because I’ve gained too much from them.
  • Hard times should prove the good in us. They should be a constant reflection to us of how well-equipped we are for our challenge; of our spiritual strength and progress, although our knees may buckle at times. Our perspective should also change: God doesn’t send us through a wilderness to be conquered. If anything is to be lost, then the course is designed to necessarily relieve us of excesses and encumbrances impeding of God’s purpose in us, for which we always need refinement. In the end, God wants to make a show of us to us.
  • Pain produces shared intimacy that can otherwise never be known. People who experience incredible hardships or disasters together are often knit heart-to-heart forever thereafter. This is why Peeta says what he does. Their lives were at stake and they had to trust one another in the most ultimate way. They learned things about themselves and each other and had to use it to survive. The situation was serious; there was no playing around, not even with words. Our relationship with God is the same. Those who rely on God through their toughest times gain an intimacy with him others who neglect him cannot know. People often desire the spiritual connection they perceive in some. But it won’t be acquired apart from walking with God wherever he leads—and that includes through tough times.

The chorus of Colton Dixon’s beautiful song “Through All of It” says:

“I have won and I have lost,/ I got it right sometimes,/ But sometimes I did not./ Life’s been a journey;/ I’ve seen joy, I’ve seen regret./ O! And you have been my God through all of it.”

Good News About Your ‘Real Age’

Michael11 Comments
CC BY Joao Lavinha
CC BY Joao Lavinha

I teach adolescents and teenagers and interact with them a great deal. At the end of the day, they have free-time and love to run. Since I used to run regularly and am very competitive, I sometimes join in or challenge them; however, this has taught me some things about myself.

They think I’m on the cusp of 30, which was more than a decade ago for me. And that’s eye-opening to me now. When you’re young, even well into your 30’s, you feel invincible. If you’re blessed with good health, the idea of disease or life lived in a chronic, decrepit, or degenerating condition is all but a foreign concept. Most young people haven’t had to closely interact with the sick or experience life in a way that makes them more aware of their mortality.

Then, you get older. And, like me, sprinting against kids more than half my age young, what was once so easy to do is now attended by pulls, aches, and windedness and next-morning tightness.

Seeking God Early

When I reflect on this, I also think of spiritual fitness, a real comparison. I remember when, as a pre-teen—as young as some I teach now—I became more serious than ever about living for Christ. My instinct was to do an about-face regarding everything, although I had never been bad.

I memorized scripture, prayed fervently, developed a regimented life in the disciplines, and discovered more joy in Christ than I could’ve imagined. I can attest to the truth of Ecclesiastes 12 about seeking the Lord in youth and before days of hardship.

But how is my spiritual life now—not the evolving young one, but the more experienced older one? I’m not nearly an old person, but I have walked with Christ consistently from my earliest youth. And I notice some things.

Contentment in Serving Christ

I don’t feverishly memorize scripture as I once did. It’s tough to keep a set hour of prayer, and I cannot pray for hours as I once did. The disciplines aren’t exciting and experimental as they first happened.

Although I rely on a concordance now, the scriptures are richer. My mind is squarely seated before God during my day; I don’t feel guilty about missing prayer. And I live each day with a conduct that was molded out of the deep discipline of yesteryear.

May I suggest that the spiritual life is slightly akin to physical life. Youth brings with it prowess and agility, but with age comes maturity, wisdom, and establishment. In my endeavor to know and embrace God, there is now far less attempt at it, much less nimbleness and feat, and much more rest in it—in him.

So although the river may not run as fast anymore, it certainly runs deeper than ever.

Sometimes life just gets in the way of being in tip-top form—you know, like that gym membership we’ve all owned that quietly expired without much use. But thank God that although fitness is appreciated at whatever stage you’re at, heart might matter more.

I’ve got just as much, if not more, determination to live for Jesus. Even better, the race is given to those who endure, and there are more ways to endure than by dexterity alone. Hey, my friend, don’t lose heart.