Overfamiliarity breeds trust

Every Believer at one point or another has struggled with hearing from God. I hear things like "Am I sure that was from God?", "I thought I heard from Him but I guess I heard wrong", "I don't know when it is God and when it is me", "God doesn't speak to me". 

Many struggle to identify God's voice or impressions especially at times when they need to hear from Him the most because they are not used to His voice.

There is only one formula - to be used to someone, you have to spend time with them. 

By spending so much time in God's presence, you become familiar and used to Him. You know when it is Him and when you are not yet sure. You know when to move and when to just wait, you know when it is a 'yes' or it is a 'not right now' or a 'no'. You also know when God is silent and you trust His silence! There is just some kind of trust you have and so you are hardly ever deterred or anxious about things or about the future.

That is where God wants all of us to be in terms of communion and fellowship with Him. Being millenials however, we want things right here right now or else we bounce. God is not like that. He is looking for a long-term relationship, pretty much a marriage with us i.e. for the long haul, forever and eternal. 

He is also the same God who appeared to many people in the Bible each in a unique way. See some examples:

The Old Testament

*Abraham - He visited Abraham together with two angels to tell him His plans (Genesis 18:1)

*Isaac - He appeared to Him to tell him not to go to Egypt even though going sounded like the rational thing to do (Genesis26:2)

*Jacob - He physically wrestled with Jacob and then blessed Him (Genesis 32:24)

*Moses - He appeared to Moses (showing him His back only) to reveal Himself and His attributes (Exodus 34:6)

One common thing about those God appeared to was that they had a consistent and growing relationship with Him. He desires this and you would be surprised at how your life would transform if you imbibe such a rhythm. One of communion and fellowshiping with Him, as well as putting Him first, that is, saying to Him "What would You have me do?", "What is your kingdom agenda for me Lord?", "It is not about me but about You."

God also sends His angels and speaks to us through visions, dreams, words of prophecy and knowledge. 

Here are some examples of people He sent angels to in 

The New Testament:

*Joseph - An angel was sent by God in a dream to tell him Mary would bear Jesus Christ (Luke 2:9)

*Zechariah - An angel physically appeared to tell him Elizabeth would bear John the Baptist (Luke 1:11)

*Peter - An angel physically appeared to him to release him from prison (Acts 12:7)

*Cornelius - An angel appeared to him in a vision to tell him to locate Simon Peter (Acts 10:3)

Even in the New Testament, God was still sending His angels to people - both young and old; so why do you think He also cannot appear to or speak to you in a unique way?  (For other appearances of God and His angels to people in the bible,  see here.)

It is time to get back to making God our everything and putting Him first in our lives. We need to spend more time studying His Word. We tend to be getting lazier in our generation but that is truly the secret - The Word. Today, there are tonnes of resources online to help us navigate the Bible in an easier way so we should leverage them and not miss out on so much goodness that awaits us even in this lifetime!

May God bless us all as we do! Amen

This Week's Listening:

Everything by Israel Houghton

Striving for Perfection

Bible Study: Galatians 5:25

If we live by the Spirit [if the Spirit of God is our source of life, having already given our lives to Him], let us also walk by the Spirit [let the Spirit help us navigate our lives].
 
This essentially means let Him dictate every area of our lives no matter how 'unspiritual' the area may seem e.g. an upcoming performance discussion with your boss at work or a day out with your girlfriends. 
 
Obviously He cannot do this without our co-operation, we need to invite Him to lead. Thus in doing anything, we must already be under the influence - not of alcohol but by His Spirit. This means we are exhibiting His fruits in everything we do.
 
Recall the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) are:
*Love
*Joy

*Peace
*Patience
*Kindness
 *Goodness
*Meekness
*Faithfulness
*Self Control

Being a Nigerian, in a crazy city like Lagos, it is very easy to throw all of these fruits out the window within minutes - either in traffic or at the bank! While I can perhaps 'try' with most of the other fruits on some days, personally I struggle with the 4 highlighted every single day. 

But the scripture admonishes us not to dictate or navigate our lives and then invite the Spirit afterwards. It should be the other way round. So you can indeed commit that performance discussion or girls day out to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead. And if a challenge or trying situation may come in those instances, you will by His grace, live by His fruits.

The scriptures also tell us to be Christ-like [Phil 2:5] . This also means, since Jesus Christ is perfect, then you and I can also be perfect with the help of the Spirit. If we keep our mentality in the "no one is perfect" mindset, we will never strive to live by all those fruits listed above each day. 

That being said, Christianity is not about beating yourself down when you fail or fall, God's grace is abundant and because Jesus Christ died on the cross, our sins are already forgiven, if we come to Him in true repentance, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.

Listen to this awesome song when you get a chance: Background by Lecrae

Reflection: If your life were a stage play with you as the lead actor, however the only person in your audience was God, what would you do differently?