Discerning How God Speaks to Us

Romans 10:17 “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” What are we hearing from Christ that brings about faith in Him? God’s promises and declarations for His people. If we believe, then we have hope. To hope for things is “to have a confident expectation of good to come.”

This verse does not insinuate a life or career dictation from God.

Hebrews 4:12 “The word of God is living and actively powerful, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit and the [deepest parts of our nature], a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Again, no life dictation. We are to use God’s Word to discern ours and our teachers’ thoughts and intents of our/their hearts. God’s Word is sound and wise, that it discerns the spiritual intents at hand. John 27:28 “My sheep hear my voice… and they follow me.”

When we hear teachers/preachers, we compare their words with Christ’s words even when they’re using God’s Word to make their point or teach what they say God says. We have the responsibility to learn who Jesus is and what His voice sounds like (what He teaches), so that we may discern false teachings.

A daily devotional page is not the same as learning who Jesus is and what it looks like to be loved by Him here on this earth. Daily devotions can be refreshing but they are compiled verses that are mostly being used to emphasize the same point and not delivering a context of how the message should be received.

There are no heretical intents, but that’s what happens when a tidbit is all that a believer relies on and when there’s no understanding of the phrases “God’s will” and “be content” to name a couple.

People say, “Oh! But the great testimonies of Christians who had just one paper with a verse on it, and believed in God, and put their faith in that one written word from God!”

Do these people presume to be living out another person’s testimony? That Christian’s circumstances were dire, and the testimony is not that all believers can get by with a scrap of knowledge, but that they believed Christ’s words, and they saw Him as their supplier for everything because they knew they could do nothing to change things on their own.

Some Christians, on the other hand, who are merely stagnant in their life with Christ, they have the whole Word of God at their fingertips, and they still don’t know their heavenly Father well enough to believe Him as that testimony they referred to did: that God’s got their back and delights in blessing His people when they ask and believe to receive.

Many Christians won’t even make a decision to better themselves, because they don’t make a personal study to know how Jesus desires to manifest His love for them here and now. Not all studies take hours and days, but when they do, you find you’re enjoying the reading and not resenting the time spent.

Discernment and knowing Jesus’ example of the Father helps us with questions such as these: is God angry at or disappointed in us believers, His children, when we make mistakes despite Jesus taking our punishment at the cross? Are our mistakes so strong that they overpower the Holy Ghost and Jesus’ blood so that we are distant and “not right” with God?

God says we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Nothing can separate us from Him or His love for us. The only separation happening is believers not reaping all the benefits of the Lord because of their unbelief. They believe Jesus came to save them and He is their Lord, but they don’t believe in His protection, provision, and care for here on earth except spiritually. Or they simply believe that such blessings are not their lot in life. “That’s for others.”

If we don’t know what God’s will of benefits for us are, how can we believe, hope, ask, or receive? We are supposed to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (says in not of) “What is true, what is wrong, how to correct wrong, and how to apply truth.” - BibleRef

Still not a career/life dictation.

Believer: “What should I do in life, God? Tell meeeeeeee!”

God: “What do you like doing? What do you want to do? Go and do it. I will always be with you. I will help thee, I will strengthen thee, I will lift thee up with the righteousness of my right hand.”

God’s Word speaks to us in telling us how to conduct ourselves and how He wants to love us. Not in a day-to-day dictation of where we should go, what we should do, what car we should buy. Yes, He will give us inspiration and wisdom, but He leaves us to discern the circumstances and make a decision.

It’s like He wants us to live our lives and use our minds! We have the liberty to go and invest in the talents and interests God has given us, and He will direct us (bless us with wisdom and discernment when we ask) as we go.

Conclusion: read God’s word. Specifically, for those feeling stagnant, read the words of Christ and of the new covenant establishment that you received from and in Christ that brought you to be at peace with God that you may go boldly to His throne of Grace.

It’s that easy and yet not that easy. It’s easy because you are told to read God’s words. It’s not easy and we see this because some people roll their eyes saying, “What’s reading going to do for me? How is that going to help me right now?”

“I have spoken it!” says the Lord God of heavenly hosts.

God declared that reading His Word will cleanse your mind, His Grace will draw you closer to Him, if you ask He will give you wisdom, Hid Word will show you how to conduct yourself, and so much more; and some choose to not read but question God’s declaration of how spiritual growth works?

Fight the good fight for your faith. Doubt comes from unbelief. You can’t believe anything God says will be and will happen if you don’t go read what exactly He said He will do for you just because He loves you. God loved you first. You had to receive. God said He is our very present help. Believe for help in your present circumstances.