How Can You Hear From God?

Leon FontaineDevoted

Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (MSG)

To hear from God, many wait for a message from the sky—a fleece, an open door, a word of prophesy or some sort of supernatural sign.

Although He may choose to speak to us in these ways, He is not limited to them.

Don’t get me wrong…I value greatly the times I’ve received a message from God through others. But to be honest, I’ve experienced many times when someone’s ‘Word from God’ has been way off. Often, I can find three or four Bible verses that directly disagree. Let me be clear. God is not about to contradict Himself. As it says in today’s verse, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good.

Although God does speak to us through others, we can’t lead our lives waiting for a prophet to reveal our next move. According to 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10, God wants to lead us by His Spirit: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him’ but God has revealed them to us through his Spirit (NKJV). It is a subtle yet monumental difference. If we look only to others for direction, we are not looking to God.

Are you looking to Holy Spirit for guidance, accepting that He sometimes speaks through others? Or are you looking primarily to others for the guidance that you can only receive from Holy Spirit?