How Can I Hear God?

“A miracle is coming your way that will be big enough to change your entire life for the better. Tell God, ‘Thank you!’”

I saw a friend post this on social media and it immediately broke my heart. It came after a couple of other posts that shared a similar message: “trust God and He will give you everything you want in life, you just have to wait for the perfect time!” It broke my heart because this person was believing the message that God had this miracle just waiting for her, but He was holding it back. Her hope was set in the outcome she was desiring, wanting God to open the doors that she wanted to be opened.

I’ve been there so many times. I really wanted to go to a college in Pennsylvania and play tennis there. I really wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be a college athlete and go away to college. I wanted God to tell me, “Yes, this is my plan for you,” even though it wasn’t. I’ve wanted God to give me what I want right at that moment. I have wanted that passing score on that test (even though I probably have studied more), a person in my life to be healed from hurt, likes on a social media post, or even a boyfriend. But my hope was in the outcome that I wanted, it wasn’t in my faith in an all-knowing God.

This world is so hungry for hope. Hope in anything. We put our hope in a person, and then when they let us down, we search desperately for another person that we can trust and we rely on them to make us complete. Whether it’s a person, a pet, a status, or a reputation, we continuously put our hope and confidence in something that is finite, and mortal. This world is also hungry for God and what he offers us, whether we know it or not: something that doesn’t fade, something that doesn’t change, someone that doesn’t hurt us or doesn’t leave, something that doesn’t die. Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!” He won’t let us down. He’s not going to wake up one day and decide that we are too much for Him to handle. He won’t tell us we aren’t worth His time or call us names and tell us He’s done. He is the complete opposite: He is Love. John 15:13 says this, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That’s exactly what Jesus did! Not only did He do that, but He didn’t deserve death, especially by crucifixion. But He did that so that we could have a relationship with God that wasn’t contingent on our actions. He knew that we were human and that we were going to sin. So He came to love us and forgive us before we were even a thought in someone’s mind.

Sometimes we believe that if we put our trust in God, then He will give us everything we want. He will give us that dream job that we’ve always wanted, the money we need to buy those expensive shoes or the best news that will change our lives forever! He will make that person change or give us more likes on a post. God likes to give us these things when they’re in line with His will for us and when they are honoring His kingdom. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Just because we may believe in God, or even have a relationship with Him, doesn’t mean we are going to live a perfect happy life without pain, suffering, or waiting. God actually tells us that in this world we WILL struggle, we are going to have hurt. That’s the reality of living in a sinful world, but that doesn’t mean that there is no good that can come out of it. In Romans chapter 5 verses 3-6, Paul is writing to the church of Corinth and says this:

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

Hope does not disappoint us because our hope is in God. If we put our hope in people, materialistic things, a circumstance, or an outcome, we will be disappointed. But if our hope is in God, we won’t be disappointed because we know that He has a plan for our life far better than we could ever imagine. What if you get some terrible news, but God uses it to change you and open up your heart? What if He wants to use your story to change somebody else, to soften somebody else’s heart? Or what if He even wants to use you as a miracle that somebody is looking for? Our hope should be in the plan God has described for us in Jeremiah 29:11.

In order to hear from God and have faith in His plan for our life, we must know Him and have a relationship with him. This will help us to discern which wants and desires are ours and which are from God. And here’s the crazy thing: I believe that the way we build a relationship with our Almighty and Perfect God is similar to the way we build a relationship with people. We do this by talking to Him, by learning who He is, by spending time with Him, by doing things with Him, by doing things for Him, and by simply sitting and listening to what He has to say. We read our bibles to get to know who He is and we spend time with Him in the Word. We pray and talk to Him, telling Him how stressed or thankful we are and we take the time to be still and listen to Him. When I pray I spend most of my time talking, I think a lot of us do. I ask Him to keep my family healthy, to keep me healthy, for a hunger to know Him more and to grow deeper in my faith. But I don’t spend as much time just listening or just being still during prayer, and I think that part is one of the most important parts. We must be still and position ourselves to hear from God.

There’s a saying that goes something like this, “everything comes in either a blessing or a lesson. Nothing is wasted.” And while I do believe there is truth in the fact that nothing is wasted, I think that a lesson can also be a blessing. Yes, situations can hurt and it can seem like there is nothing good in it. However, God can redeem everything, that’s why we call Him the REDEEMER. He can redeem a death, a divorce, a breakup, a lie, a wrong decision, etc. There is no limit to what, where, or how God can do something.

My prayer for you and me is that we open our hearts and our ears to hear God. That we hear the things that are easy to hear, and the things that aren’t as easy, but we have faith through it all. We have faith that His plan is so much bigger than the things that we can see and that it is so much bigger than where we are right now. Instead of looking for fulfillment in things that we want or think we need, we should find our fulfillment in God. So ask God to speak to you, and position yourself to be still and listen. It’s time to start trusting in him.

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” Romans 8:28.