When someone begins a sentence with the words, \u201cGod told me…,\u201d we worry. People have ascribed as \u201cleadings from God\u201d 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\u2019s leading.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not to say that personal guidance never happens. Haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
The Bible seems to indicate that this kind of guidance is possible. In Psalm 32:8 God says: \u201cI will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.\u201d Isaiah 58:11 tells us: \u201cThe Lord will guide you always.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when supposed guidance does come, how can we know that it\u2019s really God\u2019s directing us, and not our own impulses? People sometimes ask me to help discern whether or not God is speaking to them. \u201cDo you think God is trying to tell me something?\u201d they\u2019ll ask. \u201cHow can I be sure I\u2019m hearing from God, and not just projecting my own desires?\u201d<\/p>\n
People who are wise in spiritual things have been wrestling with these questions for years. F.B. Meyer, in his masterful little book entitled \u201cThe Secret of Guidance\u201d suggests a way of discerning God\u2019s guidance that has been used for centuries. He refers to three means of guidance that he calls the \u201cthree lights\u201d. 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.<\/p>\n
1. THE INNER VOICE<\/p>\n
The \u201cinner voice\u201d refers to inner impressions or private thoughts that we attribute to God. It\u2019s 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 \u201csense\u201d that God is telling you something. You find yourself saying: \u201cI feel like God is telling me something. I can’t explain why, but this idea or prompting keeps coming into my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem, of course, is that the inner voice is very subjective. It\u2019s possible that the \u201cvoice\u201d we hear is not God\u2019s, but our own. Maybe we\u2019re simply projecting our desires (or fears) into a divine decree. So we need to bring this inner voice into alignment with the other two \u201clights.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. THE BIBLE<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
3. CIRCUMSTANCES<\/p>\n
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 \u201cdoors opening and closing.\u201d 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\u2019t come at all). We want to move, but our house doesn\u2019t sell.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
People who try discern God\u2019s leading by focusing mostly on circumstances will live like pinballs, bouncing from one thing to another. That\u2019s not how God wants anybody to live.<\/p>\n
Once again, the key is that all three lights need to come together. Each one of these by itself is not helpful because it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
F.B. Meyer sums it up this way: \u201cGod’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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When someone begins a sentence with the words, \u201cGod told me…,\u201d we worry. People have ascribed as \u201cleadings from God\u201d 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\u2019s leading. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2332,1081,324,331],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}