Last month, we discussed the decision to believe God again.
Maybe you read those words and thought, I want to, but where do I begin? How do I know when God is speaking to me? These are both valid questions.
Believing God begins with believing that He exists (Hebrews 11:6). But as faith matures, we wrestle with a more personal question: What did God say?
For Christians, the safest place to begin is with what God has already said in His Word. Two Greek words—logos and rhema—have been used to describe an important part of our experience with God: there is the truth God has revealed on the pages of Scripture, and there are moments when the truth revealed in Scripture becomes specific in its application to our lives. Both begin with meeting God in His Word.
If opening the Bible feels overwhelming, let me suggest the Gospel of John. Read it as an opportunity to get to know Jesus, not as an assignment to complete. Pay attention to what He says and what He reveals about the Father. Over time, we recognize patterns. As we spend time with God through Scripture, prayer, worship, and Christian community, we learn to recognize His character, His voice, and His will.
This matters because life gets noisy. Our fears, desires, worries, past experiences, and other people all speak. Sometimes all of them are speaking at once. So how do I know whether what I’m hearing is God, my circumstances, or just me?
God will not give personal revelations that violate His written Word. Scripture becomes the standard by which we evaluate what we believe we are hearing. Does it look like Jesus? Does it produce the kind of fruit God’s Spirit produces? Am I willing for God to say something different from what I want Him to say? Sometimes we aren’t really asking God to lead us. We’re asking Him to confirm us. There is a difference.
If I believe God has spoken, eventually I have to decide what I’m going to do with what He said. James 1:22 warns us not to merely listen to God’s Word but to do what it says.
Obedience isn’t how we earn God’s love. Our obedience makes our love for Him visible.
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