I can't tell you how many times I have either heard or made the statement, "I wish God would just tell me ______." Or "Why can't God me more clear on _______." Then there's "I think God is telling me _______, but I don't know if that's Him or something I just cooked up in my own mind. I sure wish He would send me some sort of confirmation." Often we seem to seek the road map rather than the Father.
In Genesis 15, God told Abraham that he would have a son. This is clearly something Abraham had longed for, something that he desired. It wasn't a bad desire. Yet it went unfulfilled, unanswered for quite some time. In verse 4, God simply tells Abraham it would come to pass. No time table, no map, no itinerary - just a simple statement of fact. Abraham's reaction here is key. "Abraham believed the Lord" (verse 6).
Belief was Abraham's immediate response. Later he does ask God for some sort of script. Verse 9, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that you will give it to me?" Our human nature desires structure and planning. We fear the unknown, and we covet control (or at least inclusion). God is big enough, loving enough and patient enough to handle these types of questions. But remember, Abraham's question followed belief. His belief did not hinge on the road map. All too often, I postpone belief waiting for my copy of the flight plans. I want to believe, but I like to do a little market analysis and some numbers crunching before I can commit. So my belief often follows the questions. That clearly is not what faith is about.
Abraham's response of belief earned him God's seal of approval. Abraham believed, and "God declared him righteous because of his faith" (verse 6). Even after God restates his promise to Abraham, He still does not lay out the time frame or the how's and where's. He simply tells him again with a little more detail that he will have an heir. Sometimes God just lays it out there and leaves it. No further explanation. He expects us to trust Him. We have to make a conscious decision to simply believe Him.
As for the argument of "How do I know if this is God telling me this or if it's something I cooked up," all I can say is to step back and really look at this "promise." Will it benefit the Kingdom? You can be sure that Satan will not point you in the direction of anything that will strengthen you spiritually. He will not encourage you down a path that is going to further the Kingdom. That being said, we can get into very fuzzy lines here. While Satan is not going to try selling you on something Godly, he can use seemingly Godly things to distract you. All in all, we simply don't know with 100% certainty. That is where faith comes in.
When we sense God is laying something on our hearts, and it is aligned with His word - we must make a choice to either believe or question. Abraham chose belief, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Asking for direction is okay, but belief must be our first step.
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1 comment:
I once heard a great truth regarding the listening to God. It is as follows:
"The greatest cargos come on the calmest seas."
Regarding the discerning of God's voice, per se, in our hearts and minds, the calmer we are, the more likely we will be to acutely hear what God has to say.
When we clutter our minds with all the things that typically reside there, it is difficult (at least for me) to discern what God would have me to do. I agree with you...often you have to take the first step of believing, based on God's promises, before the rest can be fulfilled.
Good thoughts!
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