By Jill Krueger Wagner
In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me.” However, if you claim to have heard from God, those
who don’t know Him will think you’re crazy. Some Christians believe that
once the New Testament was completed, God stopped speaking any way except through
the Bible. Yet, in Malachi 3:6 we learn that “the Lord does not change” and
Hebrews 13:8 we learn that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever.” So, if He spoke to people in both the Old and New Testaments, doesn’t
it make sense that He STILL speaks? Isn’t it possible that those who say God
has never spoken to them, simply don’t recognize His voice? A former minister
of mine once said something like, “It would be great if when thoughts come into
our heads there was a little bubble like in the comics that said, ‘this is God
speaking or this is the devil, or these are my own thoughts.’” We have to learn
to discern where our thoughts come from and that isn’t always easy. Just like
when God spoke to Elijah in a “still, quiet voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13), we need
to recognize His Voice.
One sure fire way to know it’s NOT God speaking is if what
you hear is contrary to the Bible. God will never tempt you to sin. (James 1:13)
However, if you don’t know your Bible, how will you be able to be discern what
sin is? The first step in learning God’s language, is to learn about Him. Since
Jesus was “the exact representation” of God (Hebrews 1:3), reading the New
Testament will educate you on who God is. God’s standard of holiness is VERY
high. If Jesus had not covered all our sins when we repented and turned to Him,
none of us would make it into His Kingdom. Now our names are written in the
Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 21:27) and if we occasionally commit sin, we can
depend on 1 John 1: 9 to make us holy in Christ, we’re acceptable by His blood
not our worthiness (Romans 3:23-24).
Priscilla Shirer mentioned that we should write down our
interactions with God. That prompted me to go over my communication from God
since December of 1974, which is when I repented and turned to Him. Sometimes
when I heard His voice, I was ashamed, repented and was cleansed. Sometimes, I
fought Him – totally deserving a lightening strike that never came but I did
learn when I saw the results of my rebellion hurting my family. Sometimes His
Words were the sweetest I’d ever heard, laying to rest past hurts. Sometimes it
was challenging to obey but I saw in hindsight the good that came out of my reluctant
obedience.
