What It Means to "Hear God"

On Friday, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS) ran a [front page!] article entitled “Finding God’s Will.” This was shocking to me and, while I normally only get the IDS for the crossword, I was intrigued and picked up a copy to see what this was all about.

Naturally, I expected some sort of mocking satire about Christianity written from the viewpoint of absurd judgmental college-aged journalism. I’m probably biased. But I was pleasantly surprised. Kudos, IDS, for good writing.

But this isn’t a blog devoted to critiquing collegiate newspapers. It’s a blog devoted to chronicling my spiritual journey throughout the Lenten season. And reading the article got me thinking about what it means to “hear God.”

The article chronicles the journey of Ruth Ann Wade, who founded Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center, located on the west side of Bloomington. [Side note: I’ve never heard of this place or been here, but if anyone wants to check it out with me, I would love to see what it’s all about.] Wade had received messages from Jesus and Mary over the course of several years, which led her to start this organization. Pretty crazy life story. And to be honest, I’m not sure what to think of it.

We all talk about God speaking to us, and many people have stories of hearing God tell them to do something or go somewhere for His plan.

Many of us, myself included, are also skeptical of the phenomenon, despite having experienced it ourselves.

Why is it so hard for us to believe others when they say God spoke to them? I suppose I am generalizing here and assuming other people are skeptical. Perhaps I’m just a natural doubter. Regardless, I know that I definitely feel skeptical hearing about other people’s experiences. When I hear God speak to me, it’s never been through a voice breaking the clouds. It’s usually a really strong compulsion of “I must write this blog,” or “I must talk to her about this” with the alternative option always being “I will surely explode if I don’t do this and do it right now.” It’s hard for me to misinterpret these feelings. And it’s also hard to explain them.

It’s poetic, I suppose, that God speaks to me through feelings when they make me so uncomfortable.

I’m sure many of you think I sound crazy. I would agree with you. Based on my own experiences, I’m incredulous that people hear real words from God. The lady in the article has entire conversations recorded (on paper) between her and Jesus, and her and the Virgin Mary. If it’s true (and it seems as if many amazing things have happened in her journey), this is absolutely incredible. And crazy. But believable?

Yet- why should I expect anything less from God?

I profess to believe in a God who created the universe, from the great expanse of the galaxies to the intricacies of complex microbial ecosystems. If I truly believe He is as powerful as I say I believe, then it seems like nothing should surprise me or lead to my disbelief. But that can’t be more untrue.

My faith is challenged (and encouraged) every day by the journeys of others. There is no reason for me to doubt God spoke to this woman, or anyone who does good works in His name, yet often I find myself questioning the truth of these stories.

I’d like to take a moment to address the existence of false prophets. They are real, and the Bible warns us to be wary of them. And in this light, I agree that a bit of doubt and skepticism is understandable and even necessary. But I think, for me at least, this doubt goes a little deeper. It stems from a fear that if God truly has a presence on this Earth, then He is much closer than I admit; and if I admit He is close, then He sees my every day actions: the sins I commit and how I am representing Him as a sinful hypocrite. And who wants to feel that?

In reality, these stories should be extremely encouraging. If God is speaking to this or that person, then He truly is close to us- not sitting somewhere high and far away, aloof in a cloud throne among the stars. He is here. And He is involved. And if we invite him into our daily lives, He is there to delight and lead, not to judge or smite.

I’ve mentioned before that I strongly felt God telling me to restart my blog. Again, it was not a clear command that I heard as much as a strong conviction to just write and share. I’m interested to hear how others have heard God speak to them. As always, I absolutely love when people comment or react to what I write. It makes the experience much more full, and often you bring points to my attention that I completely miss. You also hold me accountable to a continuation of the thinking process when I could so easily write and forget.

Here’s the article link if you’re interested in reading more: http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/03/finding-gods-will

One last fun fact: this is the last thing I will write before I turn 25. Praise God that I made it here today.