JDL - Direction Thirty-eight - God Told Me...

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numbers 23:19 (ESV))

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 (ESV))

“God told me to go into radio.” “God told me to sell everything and watch for His coming.” “God told me to listen and He will speak to me.” “God told me to take another person’s life.” “God told me to be a pastor.” How do we know when God is speaking to us or not?

God’s usual way of speaking to us is through means, namely through the means of His Word. We are in conversation with God when we speak to Him in prayer and His speaks to us through His Word. Although this may be God’s usual way of speaking to us, that does not mean that He cannot come directly to us and speak to us. But how do we know if it is God who is speaking to us? And perhaps here we should mention that there really are only to entities who might try to speak directly to us; one is God and the other would be Satan, so if it is not God, then rest assured, it is Satan.

So, how do we know if it is God who is speaking to us? First, when we believe we are being spoken to by God, we will want to ask if it really is from God. We are to test the spirits. Not every spirit is from God and so we will want to test the spirit. Simply ask, “Are you from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?” Second, test the spirit against what God has already said. Remember, God does not contradict Himself and God does not change His mind. If the spirit you believe to be God speaking to you says anything contradictory to what God has already said in His Word, then know that it is not the spirit of God that is speaking to you.

If you believe that God is telling you to kill, or even hurt or harm someone, then you can know for certain that this is not a spirit from God, because God has already said, “Do not murder,” and He has not changed His mind on this issue. If you believe that God is telling you to divorce your spouse, or to have an affair, or to even look lustfully at another person, you can know for sure that this is not a spirit from God, because God has already said, “Do not commit adultery,” and He has not changed His mind on this issue. Any spirit which speaks of something contrary to what God has already spoken in His Word is a spirit which is contrary to God and is not God. Thus, if it is not from God, then what remains is that it would be from Satan.

Paul encourages us well when he encourages us to be as the Bereans, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11 (ESV)). Certainly, not only with our belief that God is speaking to us directly, but even when we are listening to others who are speaking to us and even telling us that they are speaking to us directly from God, in other words, someone telling us that God said this or that, we are to examine what is said and what we hear and see if this fits with what God has already told us in His Word.

When we believe that God is speaking to us, directly or indirectly, then we will want to take care to check to see if this is from God and if this then is Jesus directed or if this is not from God and would be Satan directed. To be directed by Satan would be to hear directions that are not in line with, but are contrary to all of what our Lord has already spoken to us in His Holy Word and will lead to eternal sorrow. To be directed by Jesus would be to hear directions in line with all of what our Lord has already spoken to us through His Holy Word and will lead to eternal joy.

Think About
Have you ever had a “feeling” that God was saying something to you? How did that “feeling” square with what God has already said in His unchangeable Word? Certainly our feelings are not as dependable as God’s Word.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Holy Precious Word through which You speak to us. Forgive us when we are tempted to trust our emotions over Your Word. Direct us and keep us always steadfast in Your true and unchanging Word, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.