Thoughts on God's timing & ways of communicating

Does God speak to us directly?  I'd say yes to that.

For most of my life, I was taught that God ONLY speaks through the scriptures and that you can apply it to yourself as a general message -- but don't get too specific otherwise you can go "too far".

And I get that.  I've heard all sorts of things from people that I'd say were above and beyond making sense, especially when people would just make statements about things that aren't even talked about in scripture.

For the most part, I still agree God doesn't "speak to you" in ways that'll disagree with ideas in scripture.  He's not gonna say, "Go steal from your neighbor who has those things you want" or things like that.

And I would say, from my own experience, he's not going to part the clouds and speak like you see in pop culture -- like when God speaks to Homer Simpson or to Moses or things like that.

But he DOES, again in my experience, show us things we want and/or need to know, when we need to know them and when we are able to and ready to hear them.

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Most of the time, I get these insights or impressions "out of the blue" and usually in regular, everyday moments in time -- like this morning, as I was coming back inside from taking the trash to the curb, I got a distinct impression about something I'd been asking about/praying about for a good while now.

It wasn't a "clouds parting" or lightening strike kind of moment, but more of a "Here's that thing you have been wondering about.  This is a good time for you to hear it since you're not worked up about something and your mind is in a state where you can process it."

And it was.  And it was super helpful and insightful and explained a lot about myself, my past, my family history, and more.

It was a part of the process of understanding myself and my motivations for how I think about certain things and how I react to certain situations or people.

It wasn't something I feel the need to go preach a sermon about or write blog post about.  At least not yet.  It was a kind of "Let's cut some firewood in August so we're ready for January's cold" kind of moment.

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It's not to say God can't or doesn't do spectacular things with people that fit a traditional, pop culture picture of answering prayers - it's just that I don't see that very often, anywhere, with anyone I know.

One of the ways people can "take God's name in vain" is to claim he's said something or is associated with something that he's never claimed.  We sometimes want something so badly, we'll project it onto God's voice or his revelation.

Recently, I heard someone say they had some spiritual gifts that had been proclaimed over them or prophesied about them.  It was from someone who hasn't demonstrated those kinds of gifts in their life at all, at least to my knowledge. 

They were or are gifts that would be obvious.  They were or are gifts that are actual abilities, not something you "grow into" as they heard (I'm assuming) from the person who proclaimed them over them.

I've heard that over the years from different people/groups I know and people/groups I don't know. Usually it was from someone who wants to be encouraging to someone else and so they, usually in moments of emotion and designed, religious events, proclaim this good thing they "see" in the person they are prophesying over.

I think it's good to be encouraging, but potentially a dangerous and/or misleading thing to let someone tell you that you have a gift you've not felt or heard of before.  

Or, even worse, to be someone who wants to be affirmed, loved, and accepted so much that you claim a gift from God that would be popular or exciting to those around you so that they -- also wanting to affirm themselves or their group -- agree with you.

Religion or religious leadership that speaks "from God" to you in ways that primarily benefit its own cause, vision, or version of a successful life of faith can feel so affirming.

But when you step away from their message "from God" and pursue hearing from God about yourself in ways that might keep you from being a part of their movement, they often give you a pat on the back and send you on your way so you can be a burden to someone else.

Not all are that way, but that's the gist of many.

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We can also get very caught up in needing or wanting to hear from God about something that he's not necessarily interested in -- but WE are and we want him to answer in very specific ways.

Again, it's not to say he can't or doesn't do that, but we can box ourselves out of hearing God's voice to us about things that might be better or more important for our walk with him when we do that.

I can want God to answer my question about money, health, or relationships because they're important to me and it could be that he's wanting to help me walk through something that needs to be addressed in me that I don't see yet -- and that something could be way more important than my question about money, health, or relationships -- I just don't see it yet.

We can stand and pound on the door asking for God to speak to us and not be aware of the door he's opened or is opening behind us.

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It's good to remember that God is not unaware of anything.  Politics, that mole on your head you're worried about, how you're gonna pay that loan back, the snide remark your neighbor made, etc -- he's aware of all that.

2 Peter 1 reminds us that God has given us everything we need for life with him.  Everything.  So, if I don't have something I think I need, it might be because I don't need it.  If something isn't going the way I want it to and I'm frustrated with God about it, maybe it's not as important as I think it is.  Etc.

Hearing from God is a relationship.  He's not a vending machine that I insert my prayers, good deeds, and good intentions into and can push a button and get the things I want.  That, to some degree, is how I heard about God's intervention, timing, and ways of communicating while I was growing up.

If that's how he works for you, that's great.  Maybe I can learn something from you.  

Or maybe you're inside a group of people or a system or social circle in which things "click" a lot more easily for you because "God" is working through those people to answer your prayers.  Sometimes that's how it works.  Sometimes it is just a sociological dynamic -- a function of being with like minded people who want to see a certain kind of reality unfold and they work together, knowingly or not, to create it.

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Our assumptions shape a lot of what we think, hear, and see.  

If I assume God is going to talk to me primarily about my sin, that's mainly what I'll hear "from him".  

If I assume he's mainly interested in me being involved "in church things:", that's mainly what I'll hear from him.  

If I assume he's interested in me growing in my relationship with him and for him to reveal himself and myself to me, that's mainly what I'll hear.

So, at some point, at some level, we have to decide what our assumptions are and lean into it.

For me, I assume that last thing.  

I assume he's forgiven me of all my sin - past, present, and future - and that's he's given me the gift of his presence in my life through his Spirit.  

I assume he wants to walk with me and I with him.  

I assume he wants to help me unpack things that might help me grow in all that.  

I assume that it will likely involve other people who are also believers, but not necessarily "being a part of a local church" as most people would describe it.

I assume that he will show me what I need to know, when I am ready to hear it, in ways that will be hearable and understandable -- and the methodology or the way he does it might switch up occasionally.

And those aren't things that I made up, they are things I see all through the scripture; especially in the New Testament/new covenant scriptures. 

And I assume that he is speaking to you as well.  

You and I may be at different points -- and that doesn't imply or assume maturity or being in front of or behind -- just different points.  

But I know he's constantly speaking.  

There's a lot of noise, some of our own making.  Some others make around us.

He is patient.  He's not in a hurry as some people think.  He's ready when you are.