Whispers from God

Our small group, in conjunction with our church, has started a new study this fall called "The Power of a Whisper." It's mainly based on a book by Bill Hybels, with a few additions from our church pastors. We've had 2 weeks of the study & so far I am loving it.

The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond

The main premise of the study is learning how to hear & listening to God's voice. Every day I face decisions in my life. And almost always, whether the decision is big or small, I would love some reassurance that the decision I'm making is the correct one. Now, I'm not talking about the decision of whether to wear black or navy dress pants; although for a woman, having someone to make those decisions would be pretty awesome!

No, I'm talking about the life decisions. The decisions about finances, family, jobs, marriage, children, etc., etc., etc. God has an opinion on all of that and wants to lead us in a crazy way; but so often we fail to listen in regards to even the smallest decision, let alone those huge life-altering ones. Even after we've begun to listen, acting on God's will for our life is sometimes incredibly scary. And how do we really know that the whispers are from God and not from another earthly source?

The Bible is full of exampes where God spoke, sometimes audibly, sometimes in a dream, sometimes in writing on a wall, and even one case where God spoke through the mouth of a donkey. Yeah, totally crazy, I know. However, if I will just learn to stop...and clear my mind of all the worldy craziness...and look into scripture, God will speak to me & I WILL know his voice.

While I certainly wish that God would just scream from the heavens & guide me in an audible way, I don't have to make decisions on my own. I can rely on Him and he will guide me in the ways that are right.

Kings 19:8-12 (The Message)

He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep.
Then the word of God came to him: "So Elijah, what are you doing here?"

"I've been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies," said Elijah. "The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me."

Then he was told, "Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by."

A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

So that's what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to listen for those gentle whispers as God leads me down the right paths & shows me the right decisions. It's not easy, but I know the rewards will be oh so worth it!

Of course, if Bogey (our yellow lab) begins speaking audibly to me I might think I'm going crazy before I ever consider it might be the voice of God!