Hearing from God

A lot of Christians through the years have blamed their behavior on what they believed God was telling them to do. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is not for this post. But how does one know for sure whether an idea is from themselves or from The Almighty?

For me, it’s kind of like this. Imagine yourself in a dark room. No windows. Lights turned off. Complete darkness. But then you notice the light. Sometimes it is so small that you have to really focus on it and draw near to it in order to keep it in sight. Other times, it’s blaring at you like headlights from a 747. You are drawn to the light, perhaps because it’s so different from the surrounding darkness.

When I am tempted to do something, it is nearly impossible for my sinful nature to see anything except the dark. But I almost always catch the flicker of a light before I end up doing something wrong. If I turn to that light, I am reminded of my true calling. I am reminded of the commitment I made to God to follow Him and stand up against the temptations of this world. I am reminded WHY God’s ways are so much better than my own ways.

I believe that the light is the Holy Spirit’s way of getting my attention. I believe that the source of the light is Jesus, my Savior. And I believe that they both remind me that I am a daughter of God and that I am to behave like one who has hope, who has access to the strength of the Lord, who can resist temptation and live differently from the rest of the world so that glory will be given to Jesus.

But Lisa, you still sin. If you have all this access, all this opportunity, all these warnings before the storm, why do you still sin?

Here’s the thing. I can choose to ignore that light. I can let myself get swept up in the darkness and turn my back on that gentle nudging. I can neglect my relationship with God so that finding that light is like finding a needle in a haystack. I can let the darkness consume me so quickly that I don’t have time to look for the light.

Now, how do you know when what you hear in that light is from God and not just some random idea from your own grey matter? If it lines up with Scripture, then it’s likely from God. If you can’t find any Scriptural support for your line of thinking, it’s probably safe to say that it isn’t God’s Will for you.

If you maintain your relationship with God and know His Word, that light will be more discernable in this dark world. And if you listen to what this light is saying and stay on the path laid out in front of you, YOU will become that light in the darkness to which people are drawn.