God speaks to His children through His Word, His creation,
and through His orchestration of details in His universe to send us a direct
message that the unsaved might interpret as “coincidence.”
But with God there are no coincidences, for He works all things together for our ultimate good and for His glory Romans 8:28).
It is always better to listen to His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12)
than to ignore it, as He may be forced to smack us with a baseball bat just to
get our attention!
Once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), God speaks to us through His Word,
whether we read it in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), hear it
preached from the pulpit (Romans 10:14-17), sung in a Christian song Ephesians 5:19, or brought to our remembrance by the Godly
counsel of a brother or sister in Christ Proverbs 27:17. His
written Word came directly from His Son, the Living Word (Hebrews 1:1-2).
The beauty and complexity of God’s creation should reveal
His existence even to the unsaved, for the heavens and earth declare the
handiwork of the supreme Intelligent Designer (Psalm 19:1), so
that even unbelievers who have not heard or read Scripture have no excuse to
doubt Him (Romans 1:20). God often speaks to believers by lifting
their spirits with a cheerful bird song or beautiful flower blooming through a
crack in the pavement, by reminding them of the Gospel through specific creations that reflect it, or even by a juxtaposition of seemingly random
natural elements or circumstances that tell us His will in unique messages
intended for our eyes and ears only.
When we clearly hear His voice in these ways, we ignore it
at our own peril. How can we be sure the message is from God? He cannot lie (Titus
1:2) or change (Hebrews 13:8), so we know that God will
never speak against His own Word. Any message that contradicts it must come
from our own flesh or from Satan, and not from Him.
When we pray to God to hear His will, follow and obey Him, He will give us peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4: 6-7), for He is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). Feeling at peace about a difficult decision is a confirmation that we are trusting God to lead us in His perfect will, and not relying on our own “wisdom,” resources or strength (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Often God calls His children to change direction even when
they seem to be fruitful in their current situation or ministry. The founding
pastor of the church my husband and I joined after we were saved had grown that
church from a small gathering in his home to a much larger congregation. Many
souls had been saved under his powerful preaching and many believers were
nurtured, schooled, comforted and strengthened through his role as devoted and
loving pastor.
Despite his fruitfulness in that church for many years, he
felt God calling him to change direction. He left to become a founding member
of HELP Ministries, which now supports and trains more than 400 native
missionary pastors in 48 countries on five continents! Untold numbers of souls
have been saved in these native churches and through evangelistic journeys and
church planting!
And the souls he “left behind” at his former church also
flourished under the new leadership of the youth pastor who took the helm as
undershepherd. This great man of God grew and matured in the Lord, leading
countless souls to Him, feeding, training, befriending, teaching and loving his
flock, and acquiring a large church campus, building a large new sanctuary and
fellowship hall, and growing the church spiritually, physically and
financially. Although God called him home at the age of 40, after a short but
agonizing bout with widespread lung cancer, his legacy in the hearts and minds
of his congregation, and the crowns he won to lay at Jesus’ feet, cannot be
underestimated.
He was a great blessing to us, and we are forever thankful
for the spiritual growth and opportunities to serve that we experienced under
his leadership. I sang solo specials and in the choir and taught a ladies’
class, while my husband served as a greeter and usher, and helped in the sound
booth.
After we had been members for 12 years, one day the new
pastor preached on Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.
As we drove home, past a neighboring church that we passed
nearly daily in our travels, my husband wondered out loud whether God might be
calling us to serve Him in our “Jerusalem”—this church right around the corner
from our house.
We discovered that the church had gone through difficult
times because of many leaders and members dying or moving away, and we strongly
felt led to help that church by transferring our membership and looking for new
service opportunities there. It was a difficult decision, as we loved our
church family and pastors and were thankful for our ministries. But we trusted
God to lead us according to His perfect plan, and as we drove to the new church
one Sunday morning we prayed that He would make His will crystal clear.
As we pulled into the church parking lot, we were surprised
to see the pastor, whom we had met only once before, coming out to greet us
warmly. I asked him about openings in the music ministry, and I was shocked
when he said, “Would you like to sing a special today?”
Even more surprising was when he asked if I would like to
start a ladies’ class. I was silently thanking and praising God for these
opportunities, and for giving us these confirmations that this new church was
indeed His will for us.
But God answered our prayers exceedingly abundantly beyond
what we could ever imagine or think! (Ephesians 3:20). As we
walked into the sanctuary for the first time, there on the back wall greeting
all who entered there was a huge banner with the full text of Acts 1:8,
the very verse that had led us to this church in the first place!
God doesn’t ask or expect us to always understand His plan,
to know how He will provide us with opportunities, or to anticipate our destination.
All He asks is obedience, for us to take that first step of faith just as
Abraham did when God told him to leave behind his country, idols, power and
wealth and to set out for the Promised Land (Genesis 12:1-4). May
we always hear, follow, and obey His call, for we cannot begin to imagine the
countless blessings (1 Corinthians 2:9) with which He will reward
our faithfulness!
1 Corinthians 2:9 But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
