When someone begins a sentence with the words, “God told me…,” we worry. People have ascribed as “leadings from God” things that were nothing more than their own inner compulsions. People think God tells them all kinds of things. A healthy skepticism is called for when anyone attributes ideas and plans to God’s leading.
But that’s not to say that personal guidance never happens. Haven’t we all experienced times where it seemed as if God WAS indeed speaking to us? If God exists, and cares for us as deeply as the Bible indicates, it seems logical that there would be at least some direct communication.
The Bible seems to indicate that this kind of guidance is possible. In Psalm 32:8 God says: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 58:11 tells us: “The Lord will guide you always.”
But when supposed guidance does come, how can we know that it’s really God’s directing us, and not our own impulses? People sometimes ask me to help discern whether or not God is speaking to them. “Do you think God is trying to tell me something?” they’ll ask. “How can I be sure I’m hearing from God, and not just projecting my own desires?”
People who are wise in spiritual things have been wrestling with these questions for years. F.B. Meyer, in his masterful little book entitled “The Secret of Guidance” suggests a way of discerning God’s guidance that has been used for centuries. He refers to three means of guidance that he calls the “three lights”. Meyer says that if you see these lights in alignment with one another, pointing in some direction, then that is the direction you should go. In other words, these three lights need to be working together.
1. THE INNER VOICE
The “inner voice” refers to inner impressions or private thoughts that we attribute to God. It’s not an audible voice that we hear, but ideas that get stamped into our consciousness. It’s hard to explain how, but you have this “sense” that God is telling you something. You find yourself saying: “I feel like God is telling me something. I can’t explain why, but this idea or prompting keeps coming into my mind.”
The problem, of course, is that the inner voice is very subjective. It’s possible that the “voice” we hear is not God’s, but our own. Maybe we’re simply projecting our desires (or fears) into a divine decree. So we need to bring this inner voice into alignment with the other two “lights.”
2. THE BIBLE
The second light is the Bible. This is the primary means God uses to direct us. So much of the guidance and wisdom you and I need to live has already been given to us. We just need to read and reflect on the teachings of the Bible, and discern how they apply to our own situation.
3. CIRCUMSTANCES
The third light is circumstances, the sequence of events and possibilities in our day-to-day lives. This is what people mean when they talk about “doors opening and closing.” Circumstances come together and make something possible or impossible. Doors of possibility open for us, or they close. The job offer comes to us out of the blue (or doesn’t come at all). We want to move, but our house doesn’t sell.
Of course we need to be careful in trying to interpret our circumstances. What looks like an open door may still not be the best move for us. What appears to be a closed door could merely be an obstacle that we need to work around.
People who try discern God’s leading by focusing mostly on circumstances will live like pinballs, bouncing from one thing to another. That’s not how God wants anybody to live.
Once again, the key is that all three lights need to come together. Each one of these by itself is not helpful because it’s too easy to misunderstand. The inner voice can be too subjective. God’s guidance in the Bible can be too general when we need specific advice or leading. Circumstances can be too confusing. But when the three come together, then you can have confidence that this really is what God wants you to do.
F.B. Meyer sums it up this way: “God’s impressions within and his word without are always corroborated by His providence around. We should quietly wait until these three focus onto one point. If you do not know what you ought to do — stand still until you do. When the time comes for action, circumstances — like glowworms — will sparkle along your path. You will become so sure that you are right, when God’s three witness concur, that you be surer although an angel beckons you on.”