“God does speak — sometimes one way and sometimes another — even though people may not understand it” (Job 33:14 NCV).

A lot of us think we’re too busy to listen for God’s response. But we have to take the time to tune in and listen, because God is speaking. Job 33:14 says, “God does speak — sometimes one way and sometimes another — even though people may not understand it” (NCV).

The question is, “How do I understand it? How do I tune in so that I can hear God’s voice?”

Here are four of the channels that God uses:

1. God speaks to us through the Bible.

It’s your guidebook for life. It shows you the right step to take. That is why you need to read God’s Word every day. If you’re not having a daily quiet time and reading the Bible, God is getting a busy signal when he wants to speak to you. You have to keep a constant connection, because God’s will is found in God’s Word.

2. God speaks to us through teachers.

Have you ever been in a church service and felt like the teacher was delivering a direct message from God to you? There’s no way I or any other teacher could figure out exactly what to say to meet every need. But God knows. So before every service I pray, “God, you know the people and the needs out there. Give me the right things to say.” Somehow, in the way only he can, God uses my teaching and the teaching of other pastors to meet the needs of people who are listening.

3. God speaks to us through impressions.

There are two extremes to this. One extreme is the rationalist who believes no impression can be from God; it all has to be logical. At the other extreme is the mystical belief that every impression is from God. You need to get in the middle and realize that for an impression to be from God, it has to match God’s Word.

4. God speaks to us through our circumstances.

If you’re going to live a life of significance, God has to make constant course corrections, and one way he does that is through the circumstances that come into your life.

When you start to listen to God through circumstances, impressions, teachers, or the Bible, sometimes he’s going to lead you in ways that you don’t understand.

Hang in there! Following God is not always easy, but it will reap more blessing in your life than you can imagine.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• When has God used one of these channels to speak to you about his will for your life?
• How can you test an impression to see if it is from God?
• How do you need to change your perspective on your circumstances so that God can use them to speak to you?

“Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24-25 NLT).

Here is the testimony of a Chinese Christian: “I walked through the road of life and had fallen into a great ditch. The ditch was filled with depression, discouragement, and sin. As I lay in that ditch, Mohammed came along and said, ‘It’s your fault you’re in the ditch. You offended Allah, and this is your just punishment.’ Then Marx came by and said, ‘You’re in the ditch because of class warfare. You must revolt.’ But after the government changed, I was still in my ditch. Then Buddha came along and said, ‘You’re not really in that ditch. You just think you’re there. It’s all an illusion of the mind. Be at peace.’ Then Confucius came by and said, ‘Here are the 10 steps of self-attainment by which you can get out of your ditch. If you will struggle, you will climb out eventually.’ But as much as I struggled and strained, I couldn’t get out of the ditch, because it was too deep.

“Then one day, Jesus Christ came by and saw me in my ditch. Without a word, he took off his white robe and got down in the muddy ditch with me. Then he lifted me up with his strong arms and got me out of the ditch. Thank God that Jesus did for me what I could not do for myself.”

Jesus did for you what you could not do for yourself.

If you want healing in your life, you have to believe that Christ can change you. Romans 7:24-25 says, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (NLT).

The answer to your problem is a person. Who’s going to be lord of your life? Who’s going to call the shots? You or Jesus Christ? When you’re mastered by him, you can master your problems.

God has the power you are lacking. He’ll help you out.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV).

Sin always involves self-deception. At the moment you’re sinning, you’re deceiving yourself because you think that what you’re doing will actually produce better results than what God has already told you to do.

To stop defeating yourself, you must stop deceiving yourself. You’ve got to take an honest look at your life, face the truth, and deal with the issues. Is there something in your life that you’re pretending isn’t a problem? Maybe an addiction? Something that you’re thinking is no big deal, when it really is a big deal?

It really doesn’t matter whether you’re addicted to heroin or abusing a credit card, whether you’re viewing pornography or reading a crude novel. You’re using these things to escape something painful, or something hard to deal with. But you’re not going to find healing until you first acknowledge the root of your problem.

You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you really change. There are wake-up calls going on all around you right now, if you’ll only listen to them. But if you don’t, you’ll continue on a path toward destruction.

You don’t have to go that way! You can acknowledge the root of the issue and ask God to help you deal with it once and for all.

I’ve asked the professional counselors in our church, “What’s the biggest problem you encounter?” They say over and over, “People wait too long before they ask for help. Then it’s almost impossible to turn around.” There will be warning signs all over the place in a marriage, and then all of a sudden the husband or wife walks out. Far too many people stay in denial and wait until it’s too late, and so they go through unnecessary pain.

The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV).

What hard questions do you need to be asking yourself about the sin in your life? What warning signs have you been ignoring?

If you want healing, acknowledge the root of your problem, and face the truth about you. God is ready, willing and wanting to bring healing to your life.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• How might pride keep you from acknowledging the root of your problems?
• Why do we often think we know better than God what is best for us?
• What do you think God wants you to do after you face the truth about the problems in your life?

“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him” (James 1:5 TLB).

If you want to know God’s will, you need to do a couple of things:

1. Admit that you need guidance.

We don’t really like to admit when we’re confused. Men especially don’t like to do this! It’s not in my nature to say, “Hey! I’m lost!” and stop and ask for directions. That’s why, when it comes to knowing God’s will, it takes some real courage to admit that we’re confused and need direction.

Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (NIV). If you’re arrogant and think you’ve got it all figured out, God’s going to say, “Be my guest. Go for it!” I’ve had people tell me, “I’ve been a Christian for 20 years, and I’ve never felt God guiding me.” My response? Maybe it’s because you’ve never admitted that you need it. You go to work assuming that you know what to do without praying about it. You make financial decisions all the time without praying about them. You make vacation plans without praying about them. You make career decisions without praying about them. If you’re single, you go out on a date without praying about it.

You think you know, but you might want to stop and admit that you need guidance, because it’s the first step in getting God’s will for your life.

2. Ask God in faith for directions.

The Bible says in James 1:5-6, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (TLB).

Notice there are two keys to knowing God’s wisdom. First, you’ve got to ask the right person: God. You don’t ask your manicurist, your bartender, or some other “reliable” authority like a radio talk show host. You have to ask the right person! Then you ask with the right attitude: expecting God to answer. Have you ever asked God to lead you, but you didn’t really expect him to? Sure you have. That’s why you never got anything from it. You must ask with the expectation of an answer. God honors faith, and he promises wisdom for the next step of your life.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• What big decisions have you made about your life recently? How did you know it was God’s will? How did prayer affect your decision?
• Whom do you go to when you need help discerning God’s will? How does that person point you back to God’s Word and prayer?
• Why does God want you to pray expectantly?