Hearing God Through the YearSample

Where Am I?

“The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.” Song of Solomon 2:8 (NRSV)

During one Sunday dinner, we discussed how the pastor felt God’s guidance strongly regarding how the congregation would build a badly needed new sanctuary. He testified that God spoke to him about things that should be done. My wife’s grandmother, “Mema,” seemed deep in thought as we continued to chatter along. Finally she said quietly, “I wonder why God never speaks to me like that.”

We all knew that Mema had a richly interactive life with God, so her question was not a sign of weak faith or rebellion. Worse yet, we could not explain how we knew when God was speaking. I was caught up in my own experiences of the workings of God’s voice, but I did not understand it. I knew only its reality, and I thoughtlessly assumed this was a functioning, intelligible fact in every believer’s life.

Understanding that we hear God and how it happens is important so that our confidence that we are fully acceptable to God is not undermined.

REFLECTION: Where are you in the process of understanding how God speaks to you? If you believe you’ve heard God in your life, how did you know that? Why might you have discounted times God spoke to you? Ask God for guidance in pondering this.