Do you have anyone in your life that actively listens to God on your behalf? Is there someone that is purposefully positioning themselves in places where they can be listening to what God might have to say to them about you?
It might seem like a strange concept – God speaking to others about you, but as I’ve discovered throughout my journey with God, He often speaks to others about me. Why? Why would God do this?
Without seeking to create an exhaustive list of reasons, I will share with you two:
- I often distort what God is saying so that I hear what I want to hear.
- I often am deaf to what God is trying to say to me because I don’t want God to interfere with my plans.
God is committed to accomplishing His perfect plan in my life. Which means, God will do whatever it takes including speaking to others about me so that I don’t miss that.
God speaks to me. I realize that might sound strange for some, but I don’t see that as a strange thing, rather I see that as an absolutely amazing thing. But God’s voice is not just limited to me – meaning, God speaks to others about me so that I don’t miss anything that He has for me.
Many times, God has spoken to others about a direction He wanted me to go in.
Many times, God has spoken to others about a decision He wanted me to make.
Many times, God has spoken to others about a distraction He wanted me to break free from.
But mostly, God has spoken to others about issues of character with me. Clearly God is concerned with the direction we go in, but more than direction, God is most concerned about our character – who we are becoming in the life that He’s given us to live. Too many begin heading in a direction, but sadly, they get derailed along the way because their character was not consistent with the direction in which they wanted to go.
As I look back over my own journey, all major decisions in my life – calling – marriage – kids – Boston, God has graciously spoken to others in my life about each of these things. The challenge for me has not been the absence of people in my life willing to tell me what God might be saying, rather, it’s always been a battle of the flesh. Am I willing to listen to what God would have to say to me, about me, through the mouth of someone else?
For some, their ability to not only listen to what someone else is saying but actually submit themselves to what is being said is based upon their ability to trust the person. I would submit to you this – it really does not come down to our ability to trust people, rather our ability to trust God.
As I consider the people that God has used in my life over the years to speak to me, about me, they were not always people I even knew all that well. It was not so much about trusting them, their motives, their end game – what it came down to was trusting God.
God will speak to you.
God will speak to others about you.
The joy in the journey comes from living our lives in light of all that God is saying. Thankfully, it’s not just a me and God thing, it’s more a we and God thing.
