“Speak to Me God!”
There are many different ways God can communicate directly with me in a way that I know He is speaking to my heart. It is such an amazing concept! Sometimes I just stop and think about the overwhelming fact that the creator of the universe will take time to talk to me because he loves me, he has plans for my life and he wants a relationship with me. I am so humbled and grateful!
Searching for God’s will and following the plans He has for my life is of utmost importance to me. I am determined to ‘know that I know’ I am able to recognize when God speaks into my life and I want to fulfill the unique calling and purpose for which I was created. I do not want to miss anything about it! I am seeking God’s direction with my whole heart.
The simple, but confusing, questions I ask myself so often are ones like these: “How sure am I that God is leading me in a particular direction?” and “How can I be sure it is God’s will I am following?” Dealing with the constant nagging questions and second guessing myself so much of the time has now led me on a wider search for knowledge on the subject of how to know when and how I hear God speak to me.
It can seem strange for people to hear someone talking about hearing God speak, but I assure you he does. It can be a confusing concept, because most people automatically think I am referring to audibly hearing God’s voice, and while that is the case for some people, it has not been the way God speaks to me.
My insecurity comes in when I begin to question myself and allow doubt to enter my mind. Sometimes I can feel so sure about a choice one minute, and then begin to question it the next. The doubt and fear can paralyze me and make me afraid to move in certain situations, and in many of those, the answers may not be black and white.
Recently I have heard messages from several sources that have said something that really spoke to my heart. My inability to make decisions confidently, or my indecision, is actually a decision I am making to get stuck in whatever situation I am in. I am afraid to step out of my comfort zone to try anything. I am afraid to fail, but I did not really realize that my choice to not make a decision, was actually failure too.
I am stepping out now, in an effort to defer the doubt and worry that tries to overtake me in almost every decision. Nothing seems like it requires a simple yes or no answer anymore at this stage of my life. I feel like there is always a test going on in the spiritual realm that could somehow keep me from being who God created me to be, and then I stop and think, “If it is God’s will, how could anything I do, or how could any trick of the enemy keep it from happening?”
Just this week, I read several things that confirmed that this is an area that the enemy attacks in my heart. He wants to keep me worried and indecisive all the time. But, when I believe in my heart that God gave me a hope and a future like Jeremiah 29:11 says, then who am I to mess that up? I have a willing heart, and God alone knows exactly how eager I am to be used by Him to accomplish whatever he created me to do. So why do I get trapped in the worry of missing it?
I am asking God to help me gain confidence in the way I can hear his voice and follow his will. I am studying the word and using books and devotions to help me. One thing was confirmed very boldly to me this week alone. It is something I know I have experienced many times and you may relate. Sometimes I can pick up my Bible and open it to a passage of scripture, then I will hear a pastor use that exact scripture, or I will see it in a devotion or when I am scrolling through my Facebook feed. Out of the hundreds of scriptures, what are the chances that I would have that happen? I don’t know about you, but to me, that is confirmation that God has spoken to me and wants me to ponder that verse and apply it to my situation. He does speak to me in this way!
I am continuing to study ways God can speak to me with an open heart and mind and I will share these with you as I learn. I also know that simply inviting the Holy Spirit to work in my life daily is very important. I am developing the sense that I am not alone, learning to steadily listen to that inner voice that leads me, and learning to trust it and be bold enough to follow it, even when it’s not the easiest thing to do.
Sometimes God does not lead us down the easy road to get us where he needs us to be. I may not like the direction, and I may want to run the other way at times, but I know it is in my weakness that he makes me strong and he gets the glory for bringing me through the trial! “Speak to me God, I am listening!“
