#BETHEGIFT Someone Needs TodaySample

God Speaks Today

I used to say if God was going to speak to me, He’d better take out a billboard telling me to make a right turn five miles ahead and then have a neon flashing sign say, “You have arrived!” The truth is, God speaks to us, and we often miss it because we are expecting the iconic, booming James Earl Jones voice to grab our attention. Most of the time God’s voice is not what we expect. God speaks in a variety of ways: through His Word, through pictures, sounds, nature, music, through other people, even through our thoughts. These things are so familiar to us we often discount them. The ways in which God speaks are endless because He is an infinite God. 

First Samuel 3  says the word of the Lord was rare in those days, and when God called Samuel’s name, Samuel immediately thought it was Eli the priest. He didn’t know it was God speaking to him. If it hadn’t been for the "aha moment" Eli had when he “perceived” it was God speaking, Samuel could have missed that it was God. 

We too may miss when God is speaking to us because we don’t understand that God still speaks today. The word of the Lord isn’t rare today. In fact, He is speaking all the time, but we can easily miss it if we aren’t aware or looking for it. Jesus taught in John 10 that the sheep (that’s us) hear and know the Shepherd’s (God’s) voice and the voice of another we will not follow.

There are many ways God speaks to His people, and each person hears differently. We must not compare ourselves with the prophets of old or even with each other. We must develop our relationship with the Lord and partner with the Holy Spirit as He guides us into all truth and reveals the supernatural treasures of the Kingdom to us.

In Matthew 4:4 Jesus says, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (ESV). We must be in the Word and know what the Word of God says because when God speaks, it will always be aligned with His nature, His character and His Scriptures. The more time you spend with God the more you will know when He speaks to you.