When God speaks what do you do?
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 1:16PM This week I have been at a very significant conference of influential global business leaders. It was a wonderfully inspiring time to listen to now many of these persons prevailed against significant odds to achieve what it they believed they had heard God calling them to do. Some took risks to start new enterprises and ventures, some gave up power, prestige and wealth to take up a life of service, others took a stand against an issue of corruption or abuse.
There was a fairly common narrative - God has a will for the world. God graciously invites us into His wonderful will and work in the world. However, it takes faith, courage, and obedience (and perseverance!) to faithfully achieve what God wants to do.
I am is servant - that is my calling. I am called to serve God. In doing so I have discovered that it most often means that I am called to serve God's people. This is blessed and rewarding work.
During this week I heard God speaking to me. It was very clear! Some may ask how I know that God was speaking to me - all I can say is that God spoke, I perceived it clearly and convincingly. I can only assume that this is similar to how someone like Wilberforce was encountered by God in order to give his life to fighting slavery. It takes courage to go against reason and seek to be obedient - I am trying to do that in my life.
So, I shall be spending time praying, thinking, reading, listening, engaging in community, watching the world, reading the scriptures and figuring out what it means to be obedient to God's gracious call to enter into God's loving, gracious, and just will for me and world.
I'd love to hear from you whether you have ever heard God speaking to you? If so, what did you do in response to that encounter?
Reader Comments (1)
i concur with your thinking on this subject of God speaking and calling. My call to serve in Wales was exactly as you described it, only when I arrived here part of me thought that God had made a mistake or I had miss heard/read what He was saying. The circumstances of our invitation had changed completely. I've had to learn (again) to be obedient even though I am uncomfortable with what I hear God saying. The lectionary readings for Sunday 06/05 are so pertinent to this subject as, like my name sake, I have found God sending me into a 'wilderness' from a successful 'Samarian' ministryand I am sitting on the side of the road waiting for the 'eunich' to come by. Will I recognise him? And what will I say to him?