Through the years I’ve been awed by two books; God Calling and Jesus Calling. The first was written anonymously by two Catholic nuns who met together and listened for what they heard God saying to them. It was a book of hope and comfort to me during a difficult time in my life. The second, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, has been a blockbuster best seller in the Christian community for a few years now. She shares in her introduction, that she was inspired by the book God Calling and decided to write her own book through listening to God speak to her.
Since reading these two books, I have tried my hand at writing down what I think I hear God saying to me. It proved to be a wonderful exercise and a blessing as the words that came were ones of love, hope, wisdom and meaning to me.
Here are a few examples of what came to me when I listened for God to speak to me. Sometimes a Bible verse I had read would motivate me to begin as in this example:
(Psalm 94:19) When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul.
(What I felt that God said to me) “You are bogged down by many worries, even though you know Me and My love. It is because you are easily deceived by the world and influenced by appearances. You think that your security is based on the physical. But your security is found in Me. You need to get that.”
Another time, this came to mind:
“Do not fret or worry. Trust Me. Remember Who I am, the One Who loves you, the One Who has brought you into existence, the One Who died and rose again to give you life. I am your Father, you can count on Me. You can trust in My love. You can trust in My promises. I forgive you for everything. I give you eternal life. In this world are struggles and difficulties. You know that I overcame the world and I am in you to overcome the things that you face in this world. You are made for My kingdom which is eternal and which will come at the appointed time. Have faith in My words and feel my Spirit in you, which is love, joy, peace and all that is good. Rejoice that you and yours belong to Me and My kingdom. All I have is shared with all My children. My love is larger than all the oceans and more than every grain of sand, more than all the stars above and all the molecules of life. Live in My love.”
And one more:
“Guess what? I want you to be happy! This often surprises people as they grow in their awareness of Me. Happiness is not something which I give you permission to have. It is My will for you. You were designed to experience true happiness, lasting happiness, unashamed happiness. The happiness that I am talking about is not the same as that derived from earthly pleasure. It is not dependent on such pleasures in order to exist. It comes from the relationship you have with Me and the outpouring of My love onto your life and relationships with others. It is similar to joy but it is lighter. None the less, happiness does have a place in My kingdom and in the hearts of My children.”
This last sample kind of surprised me as often the definition of happiness described by believers is more carnal, based on worldly accomplishments, material gain, etc. But I’ve often thought about the definition of “blessed,” given in Strong’s Concordance of the Bible, which means “to be happy.” And according to the Bible, God does want to bless us. So I guess that means He wants us to be happy! Happy in a way that can’t be taken from us because it is rooted in something far greater and indestructible, the Creator of the universe, Who loves us and died for us to free us from the power of sin, that we may live forever with Him. We may not always be happy because bad things happen in this world. But I believe it is our destiny and God will continue to bring us true happiness as we spend time in His presence.
This writing exercise is something that anyone can do if they believe in the Lord Jesus, have 20 minutes of spare time, paper and a pen (or a device to type on!). I have always spent some time in God’s Word before attempting this and think it is best to start with reading some Scripture. So how about giving it a try? Instead of reading someone else’s version of what God is saying to them, or someone’s devotional book, listen for God’s devotion to you. Write it down, believe what comes to mind, remember it and treasure it. My guess is that it will be more positive, uplifting and compassionate than you might expect. It certainly was for me.
Some people may worry and think, “What if it’s just my thoughts coming through? How dare I think they are God’s thoughts?!” To that I would say; do they match up with Scripture? If they are speaking truth, then why fear? And if they are just human thoughts then so be it. I would never be so bold as to claim that these are absolutely from God. But if they do not contradict God’s Word, I do not think there is any harm in having what feels like a two-way conversation with God, especially if accompanied by His Word and prayer.
May God richly bless you in your adventure through life and may He inspire you to meet with Him regularly, hopefully for a joy-filled, two-way conversation!
By: Francine Costanza, LCPC
