Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Doubts”
Our Bible verse for today: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:9 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God speaks to His people.”
One of the greatest truths in the Bible is that God wants to be understood by us and He does speak to us. The Bible itself is one long record of thousands of years of examples of God speaking to His people. He spoke back then, and He continues to speak today.
As was noted yesterday, God can speak to us in an infinite number of ways. In the Bible we find Him speaking through a burning bush, and through the mouth of a donkey, and in dreams, and through the mouths of prophets, and in numerous other ways. Likewise today, if He chooses He can speak in any of those ways, or in virtually any other way He wants to. But as Henry Blackaby teaches in his Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the will of God”, in our day God usually speaks to us in five primary ways. This morning we will take a moment to look at each of those five ways.
- God speaks through the Bible. The Bible is God’s primary means of communicating with us. In it He has told us everything He wants us to know about Himself, about the spiritual realm, about the issues of life, and much more. So when you’re dealing with doubts and looking for answers, the Bible is the first place you need to go.
- God speaks through prayer. I personally have never heard the audible voice of God and I don’t know anyone who has. When we say that God speaks to us through prayer we mean that in prayer we receive a dawning awareness of the answer we seek and a settled peace about it in our heart. The more you pray about something the more opportunity you’re giving God to speak to you in this way.
- God speaks through the circumstances of our lives. God is amazingly consistent in how He works in our lives. Usually there are patterns, with past events and situations being directly linked to our current circumstances, and our current circumstances pointing us in the direction God wants us to go now. Circumstances by themselves can be unreliable indicators of what God is doing in our lives, and therefore we should not rely on circumstances alone to help us understand. But circumstances are a part of the picture and we do need to include them as we seek understanding and clarity.
- God speaks through counselors. God often speaks to us through the words and wisdom of trusted Christian friends and counselors. When you have doubts about important issues and you are having trouble finding answers, involve others in your pursuit of godly wisdom. Ask them to search the Bible too, and to pray with you and for you. Then ask them to spend some time talking through the issue with you. God’s answers will often come through the words of other Christians.
- God speaks through the testimony of the church. Sometimes, especially in situations like the confirmation of a call into ministry, God will involve an entire church body in the process of understanding and confirming what He is saying.
Seldom does God speak to us in just one of those ways. Usually He will communicate in two, three, or even all five of them. Therefore it’s incumbent on us to seek God in all five of those ways. If you would like to gain a more thorough understanding of how it is that God speaks to us, I encourage you to get a copy of the Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”.
Don’t ever lose sight of the great truth that God wants to be understood so that He can then be obeyed. He will speak to our doubts and fears.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 