When It Wasn't God

One of the challenges of our walk with God is knowing when He is speaking to us or not.  Being fallible people with limited understanding and knowledge we do not always discern God's voice clearly or correctly.  We can look for a big-picture answer when the LORD would have us deal with one decision to honour God or to forsake sin which prevents us from taking the first step to enter into His will.  It is a sobering reality many believers have laboured long under a misunderstanding of God's will for them that has hamstrung their perspective and possibly kept them from obedience.  People have believed they received a sign or direction from God which they ultimately decided was misguided, and this ought to be a warning to keep us from leaning on our own understanding.

When someone says they have prayed and believe they have heard and received an answer from God, it typically works to prevent any further discussion of the subject.  They have "felt a peace" with an idea or a decision; it was not their preference and thus it must have been of God--making how we think or feel a primary determination of God's will.  Making our feelings a guide is a snare we do well to avoid.  With a desire to honour and glorify God, those closeted from fellowship and convinced of a spiritual or personal truth can close themselves off of input from people who love God and them.  This desire to follow God at all costs is admirable, yet what may pass for honouring God can at the same time disregard the revelation of the scripture and the wise counsel of other Spirit-led believers.

One major hindrance to hearing the LORD clearly is the presence of besetting sin in our lives we have refused to forsake.  Galatians 5:13-16 reads, "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! ¹⁶ I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  Paul reminded believers of their freedom from keeping the letter of the Law of Moses and it was fulfilled in their love one for another.  Denial of the lusts of the flesh was borne from walking in the Spirit.  If they walked in the Spirit, they would not fulfill the lust of the flesh because the Spirit of God is pure and holy.  Should the sinful lust of the flesh be evident in their lives, what would this show?  They were not walking in the Spirit or following His leading.  How can those who walk in the flesh be an trustworthy authority of God's wisdom and guidance?

When a person is unrepentant in sin before the LORD, they are made spiritually insensible and deluded because their relationship with God has been severed.  This does not mean their salvation is in doubt, but their sinful posture absolutely hinders their communication with God though they may continue spiritual disciplines like prayer, reading the Bible, fasting and going to church.  Like Samson with his locks shorn, they lack the spiritual power and discernment they possessed even earlier that day.  If we are walking in the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life, how can we claim to be led by the Holy Spirit?  Humble repentance for sin is a necessity for us to return to the LORD in fellowship.  In sin we are in a fog:  confused, bumbling around, circling back to sin, imagining we are making progress by efforts of the flesh to avoid sin when we are blind and miserable.  When God seems silent it is not always due to our sin, but given the foolish human precedent it would be silly to rule it out.

To have a healthy relationship with the LORD we must first respond to His initial call to salvation to repent of sin and trust in Him.  We must also continue walking in humility, repentance and faith after trusting in Jesus, for the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.  If we are walking according to the flesh, leaning on our own understanding, following signs, dreams, feelings or what we think God said, we will be led astray.  There are times people think God has spoken when it wasn't God, and praise God He has given us the Bible so we can be assured of the truth.  Thank the LORD He has placed us in a body of loving believers who truly love God and us, who care enough to walk alongside to encourage, strengthen and edify.  Glory to God for being our Redeemer, for even when we have gone astray He has graciously come to us to reveal He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.