Hearing from God

     I just ran across this blog post online at random (it came up because the search engine couldn't find what I was looking for and substituted another search term instead)- and I was interested to read through it. What do you think about it?
http://prophetgene.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-hear-from-god-for-yourself.html

(Note: I am not totally sure of the beliefs of the writer but I gather that he's a Christian. I am wary of the fact that he calls himself a prophet. Not that I don't believe we can't have prophets today, since 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 clearly says that God appoints some to be prophets. However, if we do have prophets today they may not find it to be as exciting as being a prophet in Bible times since they would have no new word to say from God. Therein lies the danger- the prophet's words must be in congruence with what The Bible already says. Galatians 1:8-9 is quite clear on this- cults have been founded this way that have led many astray from Christ. Also see Deuteronomy 18:14-22. This applies for whatever messages one might feel God reveals in times of solitude and quiet.)
    The article advises on how to hear from God and I don't think there's anything wrong with it- I would simply call it prayer. It sounds much like what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:5-15- find the prayer closet and spend some solitude with God. It's an interesting topic to me because I don't feel I've ever had some of the signs and wonders some Christians have claimed- I haven't heard the audible voice of God speaking and I haven't felt His bodily presence and I haven't heard His calling.
         I don't want to invalidate or begrudge those who do have these experiences; I acknowledge that God can speak to people in any way He wishes to do so and that He does choose to speak to people in different ways. (For instance, He came in a still small voice to Elijah but He had the voice of a trumpet and the sound of rushing waters when giving the Revelation to John on Patmos.)
      The reason this is a particularly poignant and important issue is because it seems that these physical signs are impressed by some as evidences of God's work in one's life and even of one's assurance of salvation.
     I sometimes get this same impression from reading various Christian theology books. For instance, some of the stories related by Bill Bright through Campus Crusade for Christ ministries strike me of this nature. (i.e. Particularly when people speak of seeking the joy of The Lord as a feeling that one is supposed to feel immediately at the point of salvation or shortly thereafter.) To be fair, Bright's famous 4 Laws also clearly specifies that salvation is about faith, not feelings. Feelings are like the caboose of a train- they may or may not come- but the train runs on the engine (i.e. our faith in Christ) and will run whether or not the caboose is there. (I just saw a train go by the other day that had no caboose.)
        But to juxtapose with all this, Jesus Himself told Thomas after he made his confession of Jesus as Lord and God- "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
            I also recall to mind the video my brother shared with me a while back about determining the will of God. That approach seems like it depends more on diligent studying of God's Word, prayer and seeking the wise counsel of Christian friends- and then trusting God and making a decision. (i.e. a little more emphasis on the rational and reasoning aspect of things.) This approach seems to rely a little more on the mystical and spiritual side of it. I think both are important and I don't mean to negate either one, but how do you keep a balance?
      (And to be fair, I also don't always like what seems like a "pat" answer to me when I hear teachers telling me not to worry about God's will for my life and just do God's will today- i.e. obey the commands- Do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, honor thy father and mother, etc.
 That's all well and good- and of course, we should do that all the time. I can seek to do that each day (and I do seek to do that), but I still am left wondering, "What job does God want me to have for a career?", "Should I even try to find a girl to date and get married?" "How do I choose which girl to pursue as they are some different girls that I have liked and think could be good choices?")

(I should also point out that there could be some bitterness or frustration attached with those questions as from my point of view, it's easy to look at pastors like David Platt and Francis Chan and think, "Well, sure- easy for you to say. You're already in a good place where at least you have a wife and children. You have someone to share your life with in the physical sense- someone to come home to and do things together with- and children to raise in the knowledge of The Lord and love. You have a good career going. You may not be a millionaire, but I feel certain you've got a lot more income than me. You have gotten books published and you seem to have the freedom to be able to fly around the world and go places." [Keep in mind, this is just the idealized view talking. I know in reality that their lives are quite hard with their own challenges. I know it's certainly not an easy thing to lead any church and it's not always easy for them to determine all that God would have them do either. I know having a wife and children, while it may bring some pleasures, also brings plenty of responsibilities and hardships as well. I know that every job has its downfalls as much as its upsides. I know money and travel and property and such do not bring lasting happiness.] I'm really not saying this out of jealousy or a lust for money or anything- at least I don't think I am. It's just my honest observations and sometimes that's how I feel- and it gets frustrating when it doesn't feel like I'm where I want to be in life- but at the same time, I only have a basic idea of that and I don't know for sure where that should be- just that it should be different from here. (This is one of the problems with living by yourself for so long- I know God is always there with me of course- but it also becomes easy to be self-absorbed or just clouded in your judgment and view because you don't have the interaction of others to counterbalance things. (Proverbs 27:17)
            So I'm not naive to think that life will be perfect if I can just find that right girl and get married and have children to raise and have a different job. As I've said before, you could check off every item on every bucket list in the world and it still would only be a drop in the bucket before you kick the bucket. So the bucket stops here. (um, like, the whole book of Ecclesiastes. and Philippians 3:8-21.)
           So while I do look to Jesus to be my fulfillment and not all these other things- I'm certainly not perfect and I definitely still struggle with that. Ultimately, I just trust that Jesus is enough and that my faith has found a resting place in Him - not in device or creed- it is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me- and He lives again and because He lives, we shall live also. And I do strive to find my joy in The Lord and let the joy of The Lord be my strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
        All I know to do is keep falling back on Jesus and following and obeying Him and trusting that He's saved me and that He's there and He's loving and good and kind and just and that He knows my needs and that all these things shall be added unto me if I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)
          So I'm not sure how this email became so convoluted and probably way off topic, but that's some of what I was thinking on today- as well as things I've thought on many times before. (part of the whole working out your salvation with fear and trembling thing, I think. Philippians 2:12-13) And of course- Habakkuk 2:4 and 2 Corinthians 5:7 say it best, I think- the righteous shall live by his faith, not by his sight. And as Jesus says in John 14:1- "Don't let your hearts be troubled- you believe in God; believe also in Me."
       This is also why I really love songs by Rich Mullins and Chris Rice that express some of the same things I've felt and grappled with really well:

("Live by Faith" by Chris Rice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKsZRN3wU8Q
("Big Enough" by Chris Rice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B98ycm5kH0E
("Smell the Color 9" by Chris Rice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNUmoSHavLc
("Naive" by Chris Rice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrZStqTyHPo

("A Place to Stand" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwtIV4n_t2Y
("Be With You" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZY9L1lGsSQ
("If I Stand" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jj0ZTzgmGM
("My One Thing" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aqP-A4tKCA
("Where You Are" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvU8iQ40Ti0
("The Just Shall Live" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdPnxQvCEXQ
("The Maker of Noses" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdspZ8Dexv0
("Somewhere" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tizfraZZAo
("Hold Me Jesus" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9T3tL5U67w
("Let Mercy Lead" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1QqrOfO3E0
("Land of My Sojourn" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SvR1rO_Ku0
("Hatching of a Heart" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvWaYXUwcg
("The Breaks" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaxxhNf7P5I
("Sometimes by Step" by Rich Mullins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXdrzzDZuLk

(And I could keep going with Rich Mullins songs.....and with Chris Rice songs for that matter.)


And since I was quoting from it earlier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuP2jBTNfXM
("My Faith Has Found a Resting Place")

..................          
All the way my Savior leads me...

Nathan
       

A word to the hesitating blog peruser...

As the introductions to the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators books sometimes famously said, "You are under no obligation to read a single word of this." ;-)
This is a blog filled with writings of various sorts that will hopefully now be better sorted in blog form. You can expect random observations about life and its mysteries, humorous anecdotes as they occur, poems, song lyrics, and some longer essays at times on various subjects- or maybe a mixture of all of the above. You'll probably also see a number of random pop culture references from various time periods and incredibly stupid jokes. Hopefully, it will all add up to be something positive and encouraging with each read- a respite from the world of myriads of negative voices and sinful enticements. Ultimately, you can expect to hear a whole lot about Jesus Christ because He's at the center of who I am and all that I do because He's my Lord and Savior. :-) (Colossians 3:1-3, Philippians 3:8). I don't claim to be all I should be yet; I know I'm not. I'm just a poor ragamuffin clinging to God's grace every day. And He is still sufficient for all my needs every day. His work of redemption on the cross- His death and Resurrection- has granted salvation for all who will put their faith in Him. And I seek to follow Him more and more closely each day. All glory and praise to Christ for everything. :-)
        Enjoy the blog and feel free to comment as you like- and I do hope you'll like it. ;-) Take care and God bless richly.

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." (Proverbs 25:11) :-)