Russell Media - Laurie

Every Thursday morning I attend a Bible study at our church. We are reading through the Bible and as you can imagine, we have lots of questions. Some of the hard ones that baffle the minds of scholars, others are childlike and a number are based on curiosity alone.

We covered I Chronicles this week when someone asked the question, “Why was David able to hear God’s voice so clearly?” Was it because he and God have a special relationship? Was it reserved just for David or is this something we can have too?

This spurned talk and theories as we tackled the topic - the Holy Spirit – positioning ourselves to hear God – knowing His voice and many other explanations were discussed. But how do you know it’s God’s voice that we are hearing and not our own chatter that rambles around in our head?

Okay, we know that the Holy Spirit doesn’t tell us anything that contradicts the Bible but what about the silly little things that happen during the day, like, “Should I stop home and make a ham sandwich for lunch or should I save time and hit a drive-thru and begin my errands sooner?

Now this may seem like a frivolous question but it’s the exact one that entered my head after Bible study. I attempt to hear God I did a generic prayer, “God, how’s the best way to use my time?” I passing near our home and felt a “leaning” to make lunch there but I had a long “to do” list and didn’t want to waste the time “getting out of the car.” (Yep, I wouldn’t have done well in ancient times where I’d have to kill my meal first.) So I chose fast food.

Now I won’t go into details, though it’s tempting, but let’s just say I had a fender bender that left the front bumper of my little Subaru with a scratch and a small dent on the rear bumper on a Tahoe, meaning…it was my fault. Thankfully it was minor and no one was hurt but as we waited for the police I found myself asking, “God was that ‘leaning’ to stop at home really from You?”

I thought another thing we talked about at Bible study. God wants to talk with all of His children. Those who hear Him clearly are often the ones that are focused on Him and know His voice.

I want to speak with both of my children. I love them equally. I can have them both sit on the couch in order to tell them something, however, if one of them is looking at the TV, distracted by it, he or she will not hear me as clearly as the one looking at me and focusing on what I’m trying to communicate.

I was distracted by my “to do” list and I chose to tune into it instead of the direction God was giving me. My mishap could have been avoided if I had focused in. I wouldn’t have interrupted the lady in the other car’s day and I would be $85 richer.

I wrote a similar blog on this recently but the consequences were more serious. Here I am dealing with it again. Maybe God is trying to tell me something. Slow down. Look left and right and listen for His voice. He’s trying to tell me which way to go.

Do you ever hear God speak to you in a leaning?

Is it easy or hard for you to trust and follow it?