We have been studying a book in our Life Group called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. (I tried to underline it but blogger won't let me, sorry!) I confess that I am having a hard time getting into this book. It may be my conservative COC background but often when someone tells me they have been "called by God" to do something, my first reaction is often "are you sure it was God doing the calling?" and my second reaction is "have you talked to someone (psychiatrist) about this?"
I am trying to read this book and keep an open mind about it but it is difficult. A friend of mine recently told me she had been dreaming about Africa alot and wondered (jokingly) if that meant she should move to Africa and be a missionary. I (jokingly) told her "No, it means that you need to go buy that animal print purse and the matching shoes!"
I don't know if I am just not strong enough in my faith for this study yet or what. I definitely believe that God can and does put things in my life to help me make decisions but am just not sure that he "calls" me in a tangible way. I am not confident in my ability to sort through, what is God's will and my want. Also, I worry that it is not God speaking but Satan who puts the thoughts and ideas in my head.
I think I will have a lot of questions for God once I get to Heaven. (or maybe once I get there it will either not matter anymore or suddenly all be crystal clear) For now I guess I will read the chapter for Sunday night and try to participate as much as I can. Even if I don't totally agree with everything in the book, it is a good opportunity to study and ponder God's word.
Anyone have any thoughts on God calling us to do things or go places?
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
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3 comments:
MAK, thanks for your prayers for Melinda.
I agree that discerning God's call can be tricky, especially when it concerns something I may just really want to happen.
This is my first visit to your blog, so I don't know your story, but I read your post about a hearing implant. That must be a challenge. I hope it continues to get better for you!
Actually, I did that study several years ago--and it was one that really impacted my life. I loved it!
I don't know about *calling*--I think there may be some semantic problems there--and I do think you need to make sure it's God calling not Satan--usually I would say if it lines up with scripture--it's probably God. I was raised in Baptist town--so I was kind of used to hearing about God's callings.
What really impacted my about this study--is that God puts things in our lives for reason--so say someone has twins--and is having a hard time--God is probably *calling* me to help them if I hear about it. This is not the greatest example--but since I did this study--I've noted this has happened over and over to me. (I probably also have not explained it anything like the authors did!)
Hang in there--I think there's a lot to learn from this one.
I also grew up with a very conservative COC background, so this was hard for me for a long time. I do believe that God can and does work in our everyday lives in various ways. I don't pretend to know all the ways this happens, but I believe He can work however He sees fit. For example, if I hear about a particular part of Scripture several times in the course of a few days from different sources, I know God is trying to tell me something. I just don't believe in coincidence. I believe my God is bigger than that. I agree with JB, if what you are "hearing" does not line up with Scripture, it's from satan. I also think it's okay to ask God for confirmation of what you think He's saying. Blessings!
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