How to Hear God: It’s More Simple Than I Figured
As a Christian, I take a lot of grief — even from some fellow believers — over the “hearing from God” thing.
That’s okay. I realize it’s a strange idea. I’ll even concede a chuckle at this fairly famous comedy bit.
Truth be told, I’ve struggled with the concept myself quite a lot.
I remember several times, for example, when I was confident that God wanted me to enjoy a pizza, and I boldly reported that awesome fact to my skeptical wife.
“Are you sure?” she asked each time. “You better be careful. How do you know it’s God?”
I don’t think I ever answered her.
Rather, I’d just enjoy the pizza. And attribute it’s “goodness” to God.
Looks like I’m still in confession mode, so I’ll just keep on admitting.
Looks like my many friends who have argued with me about this over the years were probably right. My spotty life results so far (including my pizza laden waistline) are proof that many — probably most — of my “callings” weren’t really from God.
Turns out that hearing God’s voice is not quite as self-explanitory as I figured (or, rather, fooled myself into believing).
But, thanks be to Him, I have recently stumbled upon a sure-fire, common sense way to know when I’m hearing from Him — even when he doesn’t proclaim Himself loudly and directly (which, I’ll confess again, I’ve never known Him to do to me). As I say, it’s not quite self evident, but it’s a lot simpler than I would have expected, really.
I doubt C.S. Lewis intended his first two or three chapters of Mere Christianity to be a translation guide for God’s voice. But Cheryl and I have been revisiting that classic lately, and I’ve come to see them as such.
For complete details, I’ll just refer you directly to the book. (Yeah, you can support my blog a little by ordering a copy through the link below. But you can also check it out at just about any public library. Either way is fine with me. :)) But here’s the short and sweet version from Lewis’s first two paragraphs:
“Every one has heard people quarreling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kind of things they say. They say things like this: ‘How’d you like it if anyone did the same to you?’ — ‘That’s my seat, I was there first’–‘Leave him alone, he isn’t doing you any harm’ — ‘Why should you shove in first?’ — ‘Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine’ — ‘Come on, you promised.” People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.
“Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man’s behavior does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about.”
Though Lewis lays off this news for at least a few more chapters, that standard is God.
At least it’s the basics of God, the part of Him that everyone — whether he be Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist, Atheist, Anarchist, or even Narcissist — will agree is true. By my analysis, it’s fully five of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not kill”; “Thou shalt not commit adultery”; “Thou shalt not steal”; “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor”; “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”
So, see, it’s simple really. God talks to all of us, all the time. And we all instinctively hear him (no matter whether we agree with Him or even acknowledge Him. That’s a whole different issue that Lewis addresses thoroughly).
That nagging little feeling I get when I take something that’s not mine (such as that pen I “stole” from the bank a few days ago and walked back from the parking lot to return)? Or when I admire some TV actress’s body just a little too much?
That’s God’s voice.
It’s always in me (and you) and talking constantly.
In China, I hear, they call it “philosphy.” I could see how you might call it “ethics,” too. “Conscience” is another word that might reasonably fit as well.
One of the beautiful things about God is that you don’t have to call His voice God’s.
But that’s still what it is. It can’t be anything else.
Now, whether I abide by God’s voice is entirely up to me. I can come up with a pillion justifications for keeping that bank pen in my car, for instance. Oh, they don’t mind! It’s advertising for them! That’s why they have the bank logo all over it! They probably intended that I take it. Besides, it’s too hot to walk all the way back inside.
But, bottom line, God told me to take it back. And I’m glad I did.
Thanks be to Him for all that is!
