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When God Speaks - Divine Order

When God Speaks – Divine Order

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One of the questions that many believers ask is, “How do I know if I am actually hearing God speak? Am I being subjective?” Knowing God’s voice is not meant to be complicated. In fact, tuning in to what God is saying can be beautifully simple when we understand His patterns and divine order.

  1. God is ALWAYS SPEAKING about who He is.

God is an unseen God, beyond comprehension. In our humanity, we tend to look at the natural first, rather than the spiritual. So, in His kindness God continually declares who He is as a triune God, so that we can know Him better. God is always speaking, because God is the living Word!

When we are talking about WHO God is, we can never fully understand God. Any list would be inexhaustible – so here are just a few ways in which God speaks about who He is:

  • GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY: God is self-existent. Immortal. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The living Word. (John 1:1-5, Isaiah 46:9-10, Deuteronomy 3:24, Psalm 103:19)
  • GOD’S NAMES: Jehovah Jireh. Prince of Peace. Abba Father. Alpha and Omega. (Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 1:8, Matt 1:23, Romans 8:15, Revelation 5:5)
  • GOD’S CREATION: Declares His unmatched power, authority, wisdom, and divine order. (Psalm 19:1, Jeremiah 10:12, Romans 1:20, Proverbs 3:19-20)
  • GOD’S CHARACTERISTICS: Speaks of His unchanging nature. His love, faithfulness, justice, compassion, holiness, mercy. (Psalm 86:15, 1 Samuel 2:2, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 50:6)
  • HOLY SPIRIT: The Spirit testifies about Jesus and God’s presence displays His glory. (John 15:26, Exodus 19:16-19, Acts 2:1-4, Psalm 139:7, 1 Kings 8:11)

Something is immediately unlocked when we understand that God is always speaking about who He is. Lean into what God is saying about His character, names, power, and sovereignty, and experience a beautiful shift of hearing God’s voice!

  1. God is FREQUENTLY SPEAKING about who we are and His plan of redemption for mankind.

God desires relationship with every person, and we are created to hear His voice. Because of His love, God is frequently speaking about who we are, and His plan of redemption for humanity. When God speaks according to His divine order, we gain a beautiful understanding of our identity. We can find these wonderful truths about who we are woven throughout scripture:

  • CREATED IN HIS IMAGE: We are fearfully and wonderfully made, precious in His sight (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13-16, Isaiah 43:1)
  • GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PLAN: Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10, 1 John 4:9-10, John 3:16, Romans 3:21-24)
  • IDENTITY IN CHRIST: As believers, we are royal heirs, sons and daughters, blessed with every spiritual blessing (Romans 8:15-17, 2 Cor 5:17, 1 Peter 2:9)

As humans, we can tend to see parts of ourselves incorrectly because of environment, challenges, or the words or actions of others. God knows this, so He frequently speaks into our identity to bring us back to a place of truth and security in Him.

  1. God is REGULARLY SPEAKING about every facet of life and godliness.

God created us, and He knows what we need for our daily living. But many believers try to hear from God from a starting place of how to live life and completely miss the wonder of knowing who God is. This can lead to rules instead of relationship, behaviour instead of being, and tasks instead of time with the Lord.

2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Notice how in this scripture, what we need for a godly life starts through our knowledge of Him! Everything we need comes from His divine power. When we start with who God is, and when we know who we are, we are correctly positioned to hear God speak to us about every aspect of our lives, such as:

  • HIS WILL AND PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 33:11, Heb 13:21)
  • HIS WISDOM, WAYS AND DIRECTION (Proverbs 2, John 14:15, Psalm 119)
  • HIS COMFORT, HOPE AND PEACE (Isaiah 41:10, John 16:22, 2 Cor 1:3-4, Phil 4:7)
  • RELATIONSHIPS, FINANCES, PRACTICAL LIVING (John 13:34, Prov 13:11, 1 Tim 4:8)
  • HIS CHURCH AND HIS PEOPLE (Romans 12:4-5, Hebrews 10:24-25)
  • USING OUR GIFTS TO SERVE OTHERS (Mark 10:45, Romans 12:4-8, 1 Cor 12)

  1. God is RARELY SPEAKING to our questions of where, how, or why.

There are things God is always speaking about, and then there are areas where God seems to hardly speak at all! We’ve probably all asked God some questions that don’t really seem to get an answer. “Why is this happening God?” “Where are you God in all this?” “What happened when I prayed for this person, and they didn’t get healed?”

  • WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? Why are you silent? (Psalm 22:1)
  • HOW LONG LORD? How are you going to get me through this? (Psalm 13:1-2)
  • WHERE ARE YOU GOD? Where are your miracles? (Psalm 115:2-3)

Sometimes the heavens seem like brass when we are crying out to God! Our heavenly Father is truly a loving God, and yet He rarely answers questions of where, why or how. And when God speaks according to His divine order, He may not give the answers we want.

In Judges 6:12-16, Gideon asks similar questions, but God answers according to His divine order. God spoke to the WHO (who He is, and who Gideon was) and the WHAT (what He would do and what He was commissioning Gideon to do), but He didn’t answer the where, how or why. And this is often what happens in our own lives. Although this truth might seem confronting, in reality it can be very freeing. Understanding God’s ways (which are higher than ours) stops us striving and stressing to get answers, and brings us back to a focus on who God is and His incredible love for us.

QUESTIONS IN THE MIDST OF CHALLENGES

If we are constantly trying to get our questions answered in the midst of challenges, a few things can happen:

  • We misunderstand the nature of how God communicates to us
  • We incorrectly presume God is either not speaking to us or doesn’t care
  • We compare ourselves to others who God seems to be speaking to
  • We get frustrated, disillusioned, and accuse God of being unfair

There is a healthy pattern in the Psalms where people cry out to the Lord in their distress. They ask questions, but don’t get bitter when God is silent. The writers in Psalms turn back to divine order, choosing to focus on who God is. They start with questions but come back to praising Him because He is faithful and trustworthy. And this is how we continue to hear God speaking, even in the darkest valley. The more we know who God is, the more we understand His heart for us even during the tough times.

UNDERSTANDING OUR PERSONAL BIAS FOR HEARING GOD SPEAK

Even when we know God speaks in divine order, and even when we know the importance of intimacy with God to know Him better, we can develop a bias when we are seeking to hear God’s voice.

  • If we are LEADERS, our primary focus can become hearing what God is saying about the church or those we are leading.
  • If we are in BUSINESS, our primary focus can become hearing from God about future direction or solutions to current problems.
  • If we are serving through SPIRITUAL GIFTS, our primary focus can become hearing from God for others.
  • If we have a lot going on in our FAMILY or FINANCES or HEALTH, our primary focus can become hearing from God for our current needs.

Hearing God speak should be primarily about what HE WANTS TO SAY, not about WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR.

God is always speaking. So today, I encourage you to open your ears to the awesome, majestic God who created you! Look for who God is in His Word. Hear the declarations of incredible wisdom and divine power in every detail of nature. Reflect on His goodness and patience, and be thankful that you are a part of His family. And from that place, you will hear God speaking clearly to you.

VIDEOS ON HEARING GOD SPEAK

      

Just Three Words from Jesus

Just Three Words From Jesus

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God is speaking all the time. He speaks in parables and stories, in statements and prophecies, in mysteries great and unsearchable. But Father also speaks with clarity and precision. And just three words from Jesus can be the very declaration that we need to hear right now.

In our faith journey, it is wonderful to be eager to know what God is speaking. But we can easily overlook what God says, even when it is right in front of us. We can look for some great word, but miss His voice because of the simplicity of the message.

WORDS WHICH ARE SIMPLE YET POWERFUL

Some of the most powerful moments in Jesus’ life were summed up in just three words. At the start of His ministry, Jesus finds Simon Peter and Andrew fishing. His command changed the direction of their lives: “Come, follow me.” While being tempted in the wilderness, Jesus rebukes the enemy with just three words, “It is written”. He uses the power of scripture to overcome temptation. When a man with leprosy comes to Jesus to ask if He will make him clean, Jesus says just three words, “I am willing” and then heals him. While the disciples are freaked out by the wind and the rain, Jesus calms the storm with just three words, “Quiet! Be still.”

Jesus, when He was on the cross, says just three words, “It is finished.” Peter, even after He had disowned Jesus just before He was crucified, was given his calling and purpose for life in just three words, “Feed my sheep.” Many of the simplest, yet most profound commands we hear from Jesus are summed up in three words: “Love one another”, “Remain in Me”, “Do not judge”, “Watch and pray,” “Do not worry”.

Focusing on just three words is not a principle to be followed or a rule to measure whether God is speaking or not. Jesus spoke for three chapters non-stop in Matthew when delivering the Sermon on the Mount. The entire Bible, all 66 books which are inspired by the Holy Spirit, is God speaking to us.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

The length of how many words God says to us in a particular moment is not the point. The point is that God is always speaking – through His Word, through the Holy Spirit, through other believers, through creation, through prophetic pictures, and in many other ways.

HEARING THE WORDS OF GOD

When it comes to hearing God’s voice, He will speak to us with exactly what we need. Never underestimate the power of what God is saying because of the length of the words. And never discount who or what God will use to speak to you! The vessel used or the length is not important. Intimate relationship with God is what counts. Sometimes the simplicity of just three words is just what we need in order to remember it.

Whether it is three words, a paragraph, or a chapter – Father is always speaking. So, when the Holy Spirit whispers something to your heart, don’t overlook it just because it appears simple. When a phrase is highlighted to you from the Bible, meditate and press in to hear His voice. When you receive a word of encouragement or a scripture from a friend, listen to what God is saying. Bigger is not always better. Longer is not always loftier. God knows best – let’s allow His Words to change our lives.

DEVOTIONAL PLANS ON HEARING GOD SPEAK

     

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Stillness and Silence

Stillness and Silence

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Sometimes when the pressure of decision is very real, there is a place that I like to go.  It’s a place in which stillness and silence reigns, where the beauty of God’s handiwork is seen so clearly.  It’s so easy to love a place like that for so many reasons: the quietness, the beauty, the serenity of nature’s touch.  But most of all, for me, it is a place where I find my Father’s heart.

Psalm 23:2 is such a well-known scripture – He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

His silence is still golden. In an age where the pressure of decision seems to be an ever-present adversary, we need to know a place where we can find our solitude.  A place uncluttered by the affairs of man and the tension of the time clock ticking our moments away. A place where we can hear God clearly.

In my quest for such a place over the years, I have often found some beautiful and wonderful spots.  Places that still linger and minister to my mind.  But not always so.  There are times when such a place, is not to be found.  For reasons many and varied, our search for solitude remains an unfruitful one.  For too many this moment becomes a time of crisis.

It is in such moments that the reality of the Holy Spirit is such a comfort.  I have discovered that we can find a place of haven, wherever we are.  It’s not a place of trees, and soft waters in the natural, but rather a place where our minds are at peace and our hearts are ministered to by His love.  The Bible says that the love the Lord Jesus Christ can give is a love “beyond all understanding”.  He speaks of a peace which is above all ability to reason or comprehend.  It’s a peace which knows no limits and has no barriers.  It’s a peace not borne out of the efforts of man, but has upon it the sweet touch of the Divine. A place of stillness and silence where the loving heart of the Father ministers to us by the Holy Spirit.

When people question me concerning the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ, there are things I can refer to.  The miracles, the healings, the transformed lives, the sheer joy in our services from people who have previously only known despair.  But perhaps one of the greatest evidences of all is that ever present peace which is greater than my understanding.

The peace of which I’ve written, is a peace freely available.  But will never be found in the strife and struggle of physical or intellectual endeavour, for it is spiritual in nature. By coming to the Lord Jesus who is its Source and Supply we can receive in a moment that which may be the quest of a lifetime.

My prayer is that you will find your haven of stillness and silence soon, for I know how much I value mine.

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