The Ways God Speaks
In part two of our four-week study of the Holy Spirit, we pause to consider how God speaks to us and how we can learn to listen to Him better—especially in a world that is so loud and distracting. Join us as Melanie gives us five ways to better hear His voice.
Scriptures referenced in the video: John 6:38, Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 20:12, Proverbs 15:22, Proverbs 27:17
[Transcript]
Hi ladies, it's Melanie. Today I wanted to share with you guys something that's been really dear to me for a few years now. And that is that I've been really praying to God to help me to hear Him better, to listen to Him and really hear Him. And so this is a study on five key points that I've kind of learned about how to hear God better—and I know that's important for you guys, too, to be people that are so in tune with God, so at one with God, that we know where He's leading us and we follow Him. That's hard to do, but I hope these points will help you to start out.
Entertainment Fasting Challenge
I just want to say something that you all know: Our lives are so busy and loud and distracted. I did an experiment a while back where for a whole month I gave up movies, screens, my phone—other than actually talking to people—Facebook, even fiction books (because I love to read). It was amazing to see that even though I thought I was pretty good about not being on screens a lot, it was hard. So I would recommend that for anyone that thinks they don't struggle with it, and especially if you do.
Okay, starting with our points here.
Alignment with God
Point number one is alignment with God. At first we start out with obeying God. And I know when I first was called, that was where I thought that “listening to Him” meant, just obeying His commandments. And it does, it absolutely does. You can't hope to be aligned with God and be in tune with Him if you're not keeping His commandments. That's kind of the baseline we all know; know what we need to be doing. But the more I read scripture and the more I learned about God, the more I learned that's really not enough, and it didn't feel very personal to my life uniquely. Then you read everybody's stories in the Bible and that of Jesus Christ who says [paraphrasing], I do whatever my father commands me. I basically don't even live My own life; I live the life that's whatever God tells me to do. I go do that. And I want to be like that. That's all of our goals.
So, I think of this kind of like radio frequency. The more that we think the way He thinks and do things the way He does them and feel the way He feels about things, the more we are on the same frequency. Just like your radio, if you're on the right frequency, you hear something clearly; and if you're not, it's real fuzzy. So, I think of it like that, and I think that's just beautiful because he wants that kind of oneness with us. He shared all of this about who He is and how to live like Him, and His entire plan like laid out through the holy days because He wants us to be in the know, to be one with Him in everything that he's doing. He's looking for that.
So He's given us His words to know how He thinks and how He feels. So for this step of alignment, get into your Bibles, know Him, know what he thinks, and know how he works with people in different scenarios because we need to learn to do that, too. Alignment is definitely at the top of the list and it's a great check for everything else because no matter what you hear, what happens in your life, or what opportunities come up, if it doesn't align with obedience to God's word and align with who He is, it's not from God.
But it's not just a moral or a guide for moral character. It also is powerful. God said that His word is not just a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, which is exactly what we're looking for here. It's also powerful enough to discern between our soul and the spirit—so like our wills and desires [is how] I think of it, as in His Holy Spirit where He's guiding and between joints and marrow. I think of it in terms of what can bend [versus] what's core and deep and necessary. And it discerns between the thoughts and intents of our own heart, which is exactly what we need to sift through. So there's no better place where we can learn who God is and how He operates in life. So the word and alignment is definitely step one at the top.
The next one is the Holy Spirit.
And the only reason I put the words of the Bible above the Holy Spirit is because the word of God is the judgment for everyone, even those without the Holy Spirit. It says in the end time, people are judged according to the books, [as in], the Bible. So even people without His spirit can still read the Bible and try their best to align with it.
But with his Holy Spirit, when we see what He wants us to be, we see how amazing He is and we want that way of life. We're baptized and we receive the Holy Spirit. But then through His Holy Spirit, God guides us in understanding scripture better, in seeing the truth of the world around us better. He just uses His Spirit to open our eyes to really help us see more like He sees. So if you haven't been baptized yet and don't have the Holy Spirit, it’s an integral step for you to take—to be baptized, receive that Holy Spirit—because then it is that still small voice that guides everything we do [and] that pricks us to something that we need to change or something that we need to hear.
Okay. Now I'm going to cover three points about how God guides us through his Holy Spirit.
God Guides Us Through Nature
The first is through nature. [When deciding the order of my points] I could almost put God’s natural creations before the Holy Spirit because God says even for the unbelieving His creation shows His power…so that everyone is without excuse, which I think is amazing. But with his Holy Spirit, we truly can see. We see how every creation around us reflects Him, reflects His intelligence, reflects His vast power. I mean, if He can hold up all of this and balance all of this, He definitely can do that in my life. It shows His goodness and His love for us. He didn't have to make 50 different colored flowers or that all smell good. This would not be integral for life. It's just a beautiful gift that He's given us.
Being in nature is calming and peaceful and comforting and reminds us of God's infinite goodness and intelligence and design. And I think it's great to be in nature every day and have that peace and that time with God. It's also awesome that just like everything He does, He kind of does it twofold—where physically being out in nature also resets you emotionally and hormonally and chemically within your system as well. I think it's cool that He does everything twofold like that.
I want to spend the most time on these next two because I think they’re the ones that we maybe miss a little bit more.
God Guides Us Through Others’ Wise Counsel
Point two under how God guides us through His Holy Spirit is through other people. God says in His word that in the multitude of counsel there is wisdom. And he sets it up this way through counselors—you know, older men and older women should teach the younger; parents teach their children; we as brethren teach each other as iron sharpening iron. That outside perspective on God's will in your life is important beyond measure. We're all meant to act in His stead—physically and emotionally to help others as His ambassadors while we're here. We need to let other people do that; that's not always easy to do.
Often we hear something and if it's not something that makes us feel very good, a lot of us tend to dismiss it as not true. In fact, I think we all have that tendency because we don't like to hear it. Please don't. Please meditate on it and weigh it to see two things mostly: One, if there's truth in it that's maybe just hard to see. And two, remember that it may not necessarily be a true thing. Maybe God's even trying to show you how you come across to other people. How we come across to other people as lights that are supposed to represent Him is very important. So how other people see us can help us see how we're presenting God's nature and character and we can really grow from that. There's a lot of change that can be had, and a lot of growth that can be seen, just taking in what other people say. And if you hear it more than once, definitely pay attention to it.
Follow the Doors
I call the next step follow the doors, and I think it's one of the ones that we miss the most. This is God's providence, or His hand in your life. I know that people tend to either attribute God to everything or nothing at all. You know, “God said this,” or “God told me to do this,” or, just, “I did this,” and “I did that.”—and I think that there's a good balance to be had in that. God says that if we seek after Him and acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He will guide our paths. So, that first part is a check, right? Are we doing something for God and His purpose, seeking His kingdom and His righteousness and oneness with Him and service to others? Then He promises He'll guide us. So that's something we can be sure of.
We can always know that if we're doing that, that God is guiding us, right? Or, if we're seeking our own comfort or pleasure or protection, He may not be, right? But even then, I think that He often still is because He says that He also corrects the children that He loves. So whether it looks like a blessing or whether it looks like correction, I think we can be sure that God is guiding our lives. Both are truly blessings and show us a path forwards. So—whatever happens in your life, take a look at it. Pray about it. If it's hard or if it's easy, God, what are you showing me through this? What are you growing in me through this? Because everything, if you're living according to his purpose, is being worked out for your good. He promises He will do that.
This way of life in saying, “Okay, I'm having a rough relationship with this person right now or they're not understanding me”… All right, God, what is it I can grow stronger in here? In what ways do I need to present myself differently? Could I go about things the way You go about things a little bit better here? That way of living of just seeking first the Spirit and His will in everything—not worrying so much about who was right or who was wrong—brings a lot of peace.
And it also eventually—and this is the hard part—lets us sacrifice our lives to God just like He did for us. Because sometimes following God's will wherever He leads us looks like losing something. Maybe it's giving up on a dream that we had or something that was just kind of important to our heart. Sometimes it looks like losing it. And the more you get in the habit of doing that, the more it's okay because we know that God has infinite good on the other side of that thing. It's not really going to be a loss; it's going to be a gain. And if he's moving something in a way that looks like blessing, great! Those are always the easier ones—and follow those, too.
God Helping His Children Learn to Walk
Just remember that everything in your life is God working with you and for you, for your good. I think of it like He is that parent teaching a baby to walk. We're kind of babies in a way, and He knows we're going to fall down. That was never a question. But He's there to cheer us on and help us back up—but we do have to keep standing up, and He is going to help us along the way. And on top of this, remember that we all have God's amazing mercy through Christ's sacrifice. He knew we wouldn't do it perfectly and He knew we would stumble, but He doesn't give up on us as long as we choose to keep going. Everything that we go through in our lives and every person and conversation that we have is a chance to learn and grow from what's happening in our lives. And it's God in our lives helping us be better and stronger and truer to His character.
God’s Voice, or My Voice?
So the question is: Is it God speaking in your life or is it your own thought? First—like I said—quiet your life. Get into God's word. Start living for Him, and that's probably the hardest part in everything.
Dare to let go of your pride, your fears, even your hopes and dreams. Remember, His plans are better. Let go of your fears. Let God speak to you through people and through circumstances in your life. Follow the doors and learn from each one of them. And spend lots of time in quiet prayer and meditation with Him, asking Him through His Holy Spirit to show you His will and follow where He leads, even if it's scary.
Thanks, ladies.
