August 18th

God's Calling

Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel answered, Speak, for Your servant hears.' 1 Samuel 3:8-10

Talking about God's calling on our lives is a very scary thing. Do you know why? It is because God's calling comes down to three potentially disastrous words: God told me.

A lot of damage has been done by people who claimed those words, yet we cannot escape them if we want to fulfill God's call on our lives. He have to hear His voice and know it was Him to have confidence and direction for our lives.

So how do you know for sure that the voice you hear really is God? You follow the signal beacons. There are three of them, and only when all three line up as one can we be sure we are on the right track.

Beacon number one is the Word of God. Nothing you feel God has spoken to your heart can replace what He has already said in His Word. He will not speak to you anything that contradicts the Bible. We cannot take the Word of God too seriously, because what God says is that His Word became flesh in Jesus Christ. We need to follow the Bible with the same passion we have as we follow Jesus.

Beacon number two is the peace of God. Colossians 3:15 says, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts. This is the peace that passes understanding. You cannot explain why it's there; it just is. This peace will rule in your heart when you are following God's voice, but it will flee from you otherwise. Take notice-this peace is to rule in your hearts, which means you submit to it, you direct your life according to it. Do not violate this peace!

Beacon number three is your circumstances. God wants to call you, but He expects you to be able to figure out whether what you hear applies to you or not. This is called discernment. Do you think you have heard God speak to you? Great. Now look at your life and see if what you heard applies to your circumstances. If it applies now, then you have direction. If it does not apply, then maybe you need to go back to God and ask Him again what He wants to say to you.

Listen for God to speak to you, but make sure what you think you hear lines up with the Word of God, the peace of God, and your circumstances. When all three of these line up together, then you can have confidence to step out in what you have heard.

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for speaking to me! I want to follow You into the calling on my life. Please give me wisdom and discernment to know what You are saying to me and how to follow You.

Amen