Steps and Stops

"Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do." Jeremiah 42:3 (NIV)

It's almost graduation time for many high school and college students. Some of them have settled issues on where to go to school long ago, while others are still trying to decide. For many, the uncertain economy and job market is very different now than it was four years ago when they began their chosen field of study. I've often felt that deciding where to go and what to do would be relatively easy if God would just speak and tell me.

The truth is: God speaks but the question is, Am I listening? And if listening, will I obey?

Few of us, if any, would claim to have heard God's voice as an audible one. So how does God speak?

Margaret Feinberg, writing in her book The Organic God, offers seven questions that she uses to see if "whispers or nudges" are from God or not:

    1. Does what I heard line up with Scripture?

    2. Does what I heard line up with circumstance?

    3. Does what I heard line up with wise counsel? 

    4. Does what I heard line up with my vision and goals?

    5. Does what I heard leave me with a sense of peace?

    6. Is this a thought I would normally have on my own?

    7. Is what I heard blanketed in love?

Feinberg continues, "As I practice the art of listening to God, I am discovering that He is surprisingly talkative even in the silence. Prayers are not going unanswered as much as He is responding in unexpected ways. Listening to God's voice requires more than just my ears: it requires my eyes, my mind, my spirit, my entire being to recognize the God-nudges in life. His voice is found in the wisdom of friends and spiritual leaders. He whispers through dreams and visions and abundant provision. He speaks thought both conscience and conviction and an undeniable sense that some thoughts are more like God-thoughts than my own. He even speaks in the silence."

In my own life, I believe that God speaks to me primarily through Scripture and agree with Feinberg's statement, "Scripture is life: God speaks." But I also recognize that He orders "steps and stops." As a family we've experienced God’s steps and stops with job opportunities, interviews, scholarships, relationships, etc. Our personal three prong test is Scripture, circumstances and God's peace. When those three things line up, I'm more confident that I'm listening well to God's voice. At the end of the day, it's essential to remember that God is ultimately sovereign and can use even my mistakes for my good and for His glory.

So how well are you listening to God's voice? Are you spending time in His Word daily? Are you seeking His direction for your life and your choices? What are your personal "tests" for evaluating God-nudges? If you're hearing His voice clearly, are you writing them down, preserving a record, not just for yourself, but as an encouragement to those who follow?

The God who spoke creation into being, still speaks. Purpose to listen and obey.

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