How Does God Speak to us?

Do you ever wonder why God doesn't just broadcast His will for our lives on television? You've probably heard of people who regularly hear from Him. You might even ask why you aren't able to hear Him like they can. In our modern church era, there is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation on the topic. I don't presume that I will dispel all of that with one or even a handful of posts. But I hope I can open the door on some clarity, however.

There is a lot of debate on certain supernatural aspects of how God communicates with us, even among Bible believing Christians. This is a can of worms I am not going to attempt to open, not on purpose, anyway. But we can start with Hebrews 1.

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." - Hebrews 1:1-2

God has spoken to His people in many ways throughout history. Visions, dreams, even a hand writing on a wall. But the author of Hebrews is very clear that in these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son, Jesus Christ. I think there's some implications for us.

One, it means that Jesus shows us who God is. As the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus is fully God, yet distinct from the Father—yet, there is one God. When we see the gospel accounts of Jesus, we see God in the flesh. Jesus speaks of who God is.

Secondly, the Bible is about Jesus. Therefore, God has spoken to us through the entirety of His word, not just parts of the Bible.

Given both of those, if we want to hear God's voice today, we must read the Scriptures. We can learn of Him by what He has revealed of Himself throughout the Bible. It's been said that if you want to hear God speak, read the Bible; if you want to hear Him out loud, read it out loud. There's a lot of truth to that.

Does that mean that God doesn't speak through other means anymore? Again, I'll leave the debates for more educated men. But regardless of how you answer that question, if we "hear" something contrary to the Bible, we don't toss the Bible, we toss whatever it is we think we heard. We're not getting new revelations, the Scriptures are closed. But God is actively working in His creation, and in a very real way. I hope that's a good distinction.

I do believe that God compels us by His Spirit—though we often will not be aware until well after the fact, if at all. Therefore, the situation still should be met with Scripture. We can't take every "feeling" as if it as an impulse from God. Convictino over sin, absolutely. A "whim" to do this or that? Perhaps, but it will not contradict Scripture, nor will it be sinful.

He also works through other believers. Think of the prophet Nathan when he confronted David about his sin (2 Samuel 12). Again, however, other believers are fallible people and what they say should be evaluated by, you guessed it, Scripture.

God works in our own hearts through our conscience and prayer. And He directs our lives, step by step, hemming us in. Again, we check these through a Biblical lens. We don't get to blame God for our bad decisions.

The long and short of it is this: if you want to know God's will, be in His word. Whatever else we discuss on the topic, it is essential that we begin with that.