“It was God” a phone text read that I received from my
sister. She had been in search for a rescue pup as a soul mate for her male Chihuahua, or as she says her “son”.
Yep, she’s one of those
extreme dog lovers. Okay, who am I kidding so am I, but my "daughter" is in no way as
pampered as hers. Just because she eats
with a spoon and has a crib mattress for a bed is no reason to pass judgment.
The announcement about the six month old puppy was
perfect timing we thought and the price was full of favor – FREE. Who wouldn’t love that right? Surely this gift is from “Whom all blessings flow”.
All the components seemed to be adding up to the work of
God, but the more information we learned we weren’t so sure. Was this really the Lord wanting to extend favor
to my loved one or was it something else?
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski
Kotar County, Croatia; Cubao, Metro Manila & Liloy, Zamboanga Peninsula,
Philippines; Trbovlje, Central Sava Statistical Region, Slovenia; Providenciales,
Turks and Caicos Islands; Willemstad, Curaçao; Broadstairs, Wales, United
Kingdom; Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh; Butwal, Lumbini Zone, Nepal.
USA
– Cornville, AZ; Caneyville
& Madrid, KY; Sandwich & Streator, IL; Columbus, IN; Boon & Holland,
MI; Crystal & Burnsville, MN; Clovis, NM; Winnemucca, NV; Jamestown, NY; Oklahoma
City, OK; Chambersburg, PA; Luttrell & Washburn, TN; Harrisonburg, VA;
Barboursville & Hamlin, WV; Allouez, De Pere, Gillett, Pulaski & Wrightstown,
WI.
I am so thankful for your visit and hope that you come
back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Prayers.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge
(below).
God Is that You?
Wanting a companion for her little hound was something in
the thoughts of my sister for a few years, but all the details weren’t coming
together. Finally about six weeks ago she
was set to make this event happen, and visited several shelters hoping to find
a small dog as a playmate for her pooch.
After a day’s worth of traveling from one
place to another, she wasn’t able to find a female. Sis would have to put off her search and wait
for more animals to be brought to the facilities.
When a newly hired co-worker mentioned that her sister
was looking for a home for a six month old Chihuahua she jumped at the
chance. Making preparation to retrieve
the pup she gathered as much information over the phone as she could concerning the details
about the young canine.
Everything seemed in place having gone over all the
questions together that needed to be answered.
Having doubt about this particular animal wasn’t the problem, but was it
the right one to bring into my sibs home?
She was on her way to meet the pet when something didn’t
settle in my thinking. Immediately I
asked my husband to call telling her to stop and turn around. When he reached my sister she was beginning
to wonder the same thing and changed her plans.
How did we know it wasn’t the right move to make? What all three of us felt lined up with the
Spirit of the Lord’s leading. The puppy had
another interested party that was better suited for him.
How
Do We Know When God is Speaking to Us?
This
is something that I’ve asked in the past and a question that has been posed to
me more times than I can remember. So
how do we know whether something is a God thing or if it isn’t?
There
are so many ways in which we can know whether or not we are hearing from the
Lord concerning a situation, but I’d like to share these twelve points with
you.
Twelve Ways to Know if God is Speaking
1.
The first thing to recognize is something that never changes, so it’s the
easiest to remember. Whatever we feel God
is saying will always be consistent with His Word.
He
never goes against what is in the Bible, so that really cuts down on the
confusion.
I learned this a long time
ago. If the Bible can be divided or discerned rightly, it can also be discerned
wrongly. This is a vital reason why
believer’s need to study the Word of God.
If
we know what it says we also know what it doesn’t say, and this will considerably
narrow down wondering whether or not we’re hearing from God.
“Study and be eager and
do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman
who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully
teaching) the Word of Truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 AMPC)
2. Sometimes when we hear from God He will give
us directions we don't understand. When
we are listening to hear from the Lord, it will clash with the flesh nature.
This isn't to say that God doesn’t want us to have any joy or fun in life, but it’s
about not following the carnal nature that will lead us back into sin.
3. We know God is speaking to us when it challenges
our faith. If it doesn’t, begin to question the source. The Lord will lead us to do things that result
in bringing Him glory.
4. God’s direction will rely on us having
courage to do something unusual and think differently. He will deal with issues in your life that
you fear so He can provide courage for you to trust Him and be valuable to His
plan.
5. If we think that God will speak to us with
the intentions of leaving others out of the mix, it isn’t going to happen. The Lord will always have us consider how it
affects others, even if it has to do with the life of an animal.
He
will never direct His children to do something selfish. We will know it's the
voice of God when we ask how our behavior in a particular circumstance will affect
others, and if it leads people to Him through the fruit of the Spirit.
Let’s
Keep Going
6. We can be sure
it’s not God speaking if harm is involved, because He will not tell us to hurt
someone or something. However, don’t be deceived
by thinking feelings aren’t hurt in this process.
People get hurt because they don't understand the plan of
God and may try to rush it. Misunderstanding how God thinks and
communicates with His children is a big reason that we fail to understand His
ways.
7. Waiting in silence is another way to determine if God is trying to tell us something. There are many times the
Lord will have us wait patiently to develop our trust in His direction. In waiting we build strength and courage to
step out of our comfort zone.
“Be strong
and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for and hope for and
expect the Lord!”
(Psalm 31:24
AMPC)
Sometimes we have to do things now, but most of the time
we don't. Be sensitive and cautious to
hear God distinctly. We are given many instances in the Bible where individuals didn’t
want to wait on God and got themselves into all sorts of trouble. King Saul was one of those people.
When it came time to sacrifice to the Lord he didn't want
to wait for the prophet to show up, and took things into his own hands
violating the holiness of the process.
His impatience cost him the throne; a big price to pay for not waiting a
few more days.
8. You can tell
when God is speaking because He won't tell us to make a decision and forget the
consequences. As a matter of fact we
can be sure if it’s the devil or the flesh speaking because we’ll hear:
“Hey let’s do this. Eat, drink and
be merry.
It won’t hurt anyone; only me.”
God requires that we act in wisdom because the decisions we
make today truly effect tomorrow. He even
tells us to ask for wisdom so we don’t fall into this false sense of pride
thinking we can handle everything on our own.
To avoid considering there will be consequence to the action is
downright nuts and involves no wisdom at all.
9. When God speaks
to us He will advise seeking godly
counsel as verification to what is believed to be the course of action. True
Christian counsel won’t be afraid to tell what God says about a matter, and will
never feed us only what we want to hear on a subject. Their counsel will confirm what God is
telling us, where as ungodly advice destroys people.
“The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous
utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks with justice.”
(Psalm 37:30 AMPC)
“She
opens her mouth in skillful and godly
Wisdom, and on her tongue is the
law of kindness (giving counsel
and instruction).”
(Proverbs 31:26 AMPC)
10. God's voice will cause His people to grow spiritually
and not go backwards. We may be tested and fail the test, but that's not going
backwards from Him we're just not moving forward.
If we happen to miss what God is saying and fail at a
task it’s because of something we did.
Thankfully because of His grace and favor we will have another opportunity
to keep trying as we focus on hearing His voice.
“So let those (of us) who are spiritually mature and full-grown
have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you
have a different attitude of mind, God will
make that clear to you also.” (Philippians 3:15 AMPC)
Our lack of faith and wisdom causes us to make mistakes
and go backwards. Poor decisions will cause that to happen, not His direction.
That's why we need the wisdom and help of the Holy Spirit in our lives daily.
“If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him
ask of the giving God
(Who
gives) to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly,
without reproaching or faultfinding, and it
will be given him.”
(James
1:5 AMPC)
The Ultimate Knowing it’s God Talking
11. This is the most positive way that I know when it’s
really God trying to speak to my spirit.
I have an inner peace about my decision.
God's voice will always lead to ultimate peace in our
spirit, if we aren’t experiencing that it is not God and the conflict is all
ours. The Amplified Bible says that the peace
of God sits as an umpire on our hearts. I like that because peace is basically making the call.
“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes)
from Christ rule
(act as umpire
continually) in your hearts (deciding and settling
with finality all questions that arise in your
minds, in that peaceful state) to which as (members of Christ’s) one body you
were also called (to live). And be thankful (appreciative, giving praise to God
always). (Colossians 3:15
AMP)
If there is any struggle to get from the conflict to
peace we can be sure that it’s not God speaking; the controversy is of our
own making. Sometimes we cause our own
discord if we don’t immediately hear how to go about handling a situation.
Yes, we might get a little impatient, but don’t get
discouraged thinking you’ve missed hearing from God. Learning to recognize if it’s God or not
takes time in discerning His voice, but stick with it and you will.
Jesus said My sheep know My voice. If you want to know
God's voice you have to listen. To discern what He says, the Word is the way.
“The sheep
that are My own hear and are listening to My voice;
and I know them, and they follow Me.”
(John
10:27 AMPC)
The Voice of Truth
12. The last point
to keep in mind is that God’s voice will always be the Voice of Truth.
He will
never lie to us or lead us in the wrong direction, because God cannot lie. It’s not a part of the nature of God.
Twelve Ways to Know if God is Speaking
1. Consistent
to His Word
2. Gives
Directions We Don’t Always Understand
3. Challenges
Our Faith
4. Courage
is Needed
5. Consider
How it Affects Others
6. Will Not Direct Us to Harm
7. Wait in Silence
8. Consider the Consequences
9. Seek Godly Counsel
10. Grow Spiritually
11. There Will Be Inner Peace
12. God’s Voice is the Voice of Truth
There will be a lot of “voices” that try to make you
follow their path, but don’t be swayed in their direction. Remember there is only one VOICE of Favor and
that is the Voice of Jesus … His is the Voice of Truth!
This Week’s Challenge:
The Voice of Favor:
Listening Step-by-Step
God really does want us to receive favor in life, but we have to learn if what we think is favor really is.
When my sister thought she was hearing from God in getting the puppy playmate
so her dog would have a companion, it really looked like a good deal.
After all the evidence was considered, “free” wasn’t a
God thing. It was a distraction from
satan, so that sis would make a wrong decision costing her a great deal
financially as well as emotionally.
The challenge before us is to recognize and discern who
is doing the talking when we make choices.
We need to keep in mind the twelve points and determine who and what is
guiding us to make the decision at hand.
Ask yourself who is speaking:
God,
Me (meaning you or me),
satan or
are we following ungodly counsel.
If we remember to follow these points it will always lead
us to the favor of God, because the Voice of Truth is the one doing the
speaking and directing.
“Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) to you
and
(inner, heart)
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
(the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
(1 Corinthians 1:2 AMPC emphasis mine)
It’s Here …
Just a little note: Don’t fret, the information I promised to share with you from Days of Daily Favor is here. Go read it!
The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns
If this article has encouraged or helped you, please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until next time, God’s voice speaks favor
into life!
“I Am the voice of favor – hear Me.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
When used,
the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
What’s New This Week: Click
on the photo or link.
Practical
Help for listening to Him and Recognizing His Voice
by
James W. Goll
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As always, all proceeds from this site go to Christian
charity.
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you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of
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Scripture
references provided by Gateway Bible in the New King James Bible Version or as
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Image: Puppy Chihuahua Lady Turning Around in Car God is Trying to Tell You God Gives the Answer The Voice of God
