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When God Gives Direction, Mature Believers Will Confirm
By Rick Warren

“[God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known.” (Ephesians 3:10 NIV)

When you think you’ve heard God tell you something, you might ask yourself, “How do I know if this impression is really from God?

If you want to know if your impression is from God, you need to ask, “Does my church family confirm it?”

You need the wisdom and advice of godly people in your life to help you stay on track. God never meant for you to go through life on your own. That’s why he created the church!

We need each other. Nobody has all the answers. Nobody has it all together. Nobody knows the right decision every time. That’s why we need a church family. We need spiritually mature friends to bounce ideas off of and get feedback from.

Ephesians 3:10 says,“[God’s] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known”(NIV).

If God has genuinely spoken to you, then other mature believers will confirm it. If they don’t confirm it, you have every reason to doubt whether it’s really from God.

If you feel resistant to even sharing the impression, where do you think that resistance is coming from? It’s coming from the devil. It means it’s not from God because God would not have a problem with you sharing an idea from him. He wants us to learn from each other, to share with each other, to get the wise counsel of each other.

I’ve been a pastor for many, many years. I’ve talked to thousands of people. I have concluded that the two biggest reasons people mess up in life are that one, they have no spiritually mature friends, and two, they don’t listen to them even if they do have them.

The Bible says in Proverbs 11:9,“The wisdom of the righteous can save you”(GNT). It doesn’t say the wisdom of your best friends. It says the“wisdom of the righteous”— in other words, people who have been walking with God longer than you. They’re not perfect, but they are making an effort to grow, and they’re sincere. What do they save you? They save you time, money, and energy, and they save you from mistakes, failure, and danger. That’s why you need other mature believers to help you know if an impression is from God.

Talk It Over

Who are the people in your life who you can share your impressions with and who will give you biblical counsel?

What keeps you from sharing with other believers about your spiritual questions and your relationship with God?

Would other believers say they can freely share their ideas and impressions with you? Why or why not?