God Speaks - Daily Devotional

Daily Bible Reading - Job 33, Zechariah 9, Revelation 7-9

God Speaks

I get the question, "how does God speak to me" a lot. It is a great question and I along with so many people give the standard answer of, "God speaks through, His word, authority figures in your life and in that still small voice within. While all of this is true, God also speaks to us through visions and dreams.

Not only does He speak in visions and dreams but it says in Job 33:14-15 that these are the two specific ways God speaks. Look at the verse, "For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds". Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:17 reinforce this truth that God speaks in such a way. Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is God speaking to John in a vision. Throughout the Bible you will see God speaking to men and women through visions and dreams which leaves me wondering why we do not hear when God speaks this way today?

Three reasons why we do not hear when God speaks in this way come to mind.
1) We may have been discouraged from hearing this way by a leader
2) We are afraid of what He is speaking
3) We think it's just the pizza we ate last night

Here are a couple of things to remember when evaluating if it is truly God speaking through a vision or a dream. First God does use authority figures in your life to help evaluate what you are hearing from God. They are there to coach you in a way that helps you to achieve God dreams and visions and for no benefit to themselves. If you ever hear someone say, "that is a great idea but we are just not ready to do that so just put it on the shelf for a couple years" or "you need to submit that to the elders of our church and we will decide when and if that is God", find another church to attend. Now, will it always be God speaking to you in a vision/dream - no. Will you need to wait a couple of years before that vision/dream is realized - yes sometimes you will. The church however is not a place that should control your God dreams/visions but rather a place you can go to find help in achieving them.

Secondly, always remember that God will never speak to you to do something that is contrary to His Word. This means you must be a man/woman of the Word. You must be in it daily reading, studying, memorize and living the Word of God. If you have this sort of lifestyle then hearing from God will become easier and easier.

Thirdly, do not be afraid when God speaks to you through a vision/dream as it may not always be the pizza you had last night (but sometimes it is :0). Although what God speaks to you in a vision/dream might be a scary thing to do or out of your comfort zone, He will give you the peace to fulfill it. Peace in the middle of a tough task that God has asked you to do is always a sure sign that God is in it and that He truly did speak to you. Often times I do not know until I step out in faith that it is truly God but when He brings that peace it reinforces the fact that is. Stepping out and starting Urban was/is a really scary thing but God has surrounded me with His peace.

The Christmas season is all about God speaking through visions and dreams which leads me to ask, what is God speaking to you?

Tomorrows Bible Reading - Job 34, Zechariah 10, Revelation 10-11

Dream Big
Ben