GOD NUDGES, SPEAKS AND CORRECTS – Part 2 of 2

God nudges. God speaks. And God also corrects. I’m thankful for that. Sometimes I miss His nudges. Sometimes I misunderstand His words. And so He needs to correct. But God’s correction is not a frightening thing. Rather, it is freeing and invigorating.

Christians who want to reach out to their friends and help them grow sometimes make the mistake of thinking that it’s their job to convict their friends of sin. But this is the Holy Spirit’s job (John 16:7-10). Our job, if we have the gift of exhortation, is to “stimulate the faith of others” (Romans 12:9 PH), to stand on the sidelines and cheer: “Yes, my friends! Be free! Listen to the conviction of the Spirit! Follow the Word of the Lord!”

Most of the time God’s nudging, speaking, and correcting take place in the ordinary moments of our days. Sometimes God seems especially present in a conversation. Occasionally, I sense God leading me to suggest meeting a friend five or six times to discuss a particular issue, book or passage of Scripture. When that happens, I usually tell my friend that I’d like to give her the gift of focusing on her agenda when we get together. This is not chitchat time. It’s not even sharing time. It’s a time to look at her life to see if we can discover what God is saying to her. I love it when people show that kind of interest in me. And you can be sure that others will respond enthusiastically to your interest in them.

Thinking back on my childhood, I’m thankful for those who God has used to nudge me towards the kingdom. I’m delighted that in the years since, God has used me to help others “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30: 19).

God uses ordinary people like you and me, to urge others to follow Him. What a privilege to be a part of His work in the world today!

-- Alice Fryling, from an article entitled “In His Steps” in Discipleship Journal, No. 67

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GOD NUDGES, SPEAKS AND CORRECTS – Part 1 of 2

“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”  (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a NIV)

God gives all of us a choice to follow Him: “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws… I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16; 30:19)  Along the way, people have helped me to choose life by gently “nudging” me to want to be like them.

On the other hand, I can think of too many friends who have turned away from God because of someone’s ill-suited attempts to “disciple” them. In our well-intentioned determination to “clean up” a new believer’s life, we may impose standards and expectations that God never intended.

This, I believe, is because we forget how God works in our lives. He usually works slowly and quietly. He uses circumstances to pattern His own intervention. And He never speaks to me in exactly the same way He speaks to you.

Most important, we must remember that He does the work. It isn’t our work, our influence, or our ideas that cause real growth in another’s life. If we forget that, we can be tempted to manipulate others, and we risk becoming caricatures of people of faith.

As I’ve experienced God’s work in my own life and seen Him work in the lives of others, I’ve noticed that He does three things: He nudges, He speaks, and He corrects. We grow -- we choose life -- when we respond to His activity in our lives. We help others choose life, too, when we understand and participate in God’s work as He nudges them, speaks to them, and corrects them. 

-- Alice Fryling, from an article entitled “In His Steps” in Discipleship Journal, No. 67

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MORNING, AFTERNOON AND EVENING

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9 NIV)

Morning, afternoon, evening -- the hours of the day, of any day, of your day and my day.  The alphabet of grace.  If there is a God who speaks anywhere, surely He speaks here: through waking up and working, through going away and coming back again, through people you meet and books you read, through falling asleep in the dark. 

-- Fredrick Buechner in “The Alphabet of Grace”

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I AM GLAD YOU ARE HERE

I was running on a beach early one morning, discouraged by the lack of progress in my own life and feeling that I was still wrestling with the same selfishness and fear that I had many years ago. Because it was so early, the beach was deserted. Then I saw a man walking toward me -- a big old guy, bald as could be, wearing only a long pair of floral swimming trunks, great big paunch leading the way. He looked like Santa Claus on summer vacation.

I intended to just give him the jogger’s nod of acknowledgment and keep moving down the beach, but he was having none of that. Looking me right in the eye, he stuck his right arm all the way out to the side and silently held a huge hand in the air. He walked right up to me. He was insisting on a high five. The man had attitude. I smacked his hand with mine, and he gave me a nod of satisfaction, as if to say, “We’re connected now. It is good that we share this beach together. I am glad you are here.”

Immediately I had this thought – whether or not it is from God, only God knows: I am glad you are here. I am not neutral about your existence. This is a little picture of grace. Do not be discouraged, not even about your own failings.

To this day, every time I remember the man on the beach, I think about God.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”


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AWAKENING OUR HEARTS TO GOD’S LOVE

“Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”  (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)

God invites us to wake up to the reality of His presence in our lives each and every day. He may get our attentions through all kinds of unexpected ways. He may speak through a passage of the Bible you’re reading. He may answer a prayer you’ve been waiting on for weeks, months, or years. He may share a much-needed word of encouragement with you through a friend. God is incredibly creative when it comes to awakening our hearts to His love. 

-- Margaret Feinberg in “A Grand New Day”


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THE MIND OF CHRIST

“Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 2:15-16 NRSV)

God is at work around us, and to accomplish this work God personally communicates His will to His people, inviting each church to join in His activity in specific ways. It is not for us to dream our own dreams of what we want to do for God. This is never the pattern in the Scriptures. God already knows what He is purposing to do through those He calls to Himself. And God is waiting for us to adjust our lives to His purposes so He can work powerfully through us to redeem our lost world.

When we hear God’s call and respond appropriately, there will be no limit to what God can and will do through His people. But if we do not even recognize when God is speaking, we are in trouble at the very heart of our relationship with Him.

This is true in all levels of our walk with God and with each other. If we in our churches cannot sense what God is telling us, then in moments of crucial decisions we’ll continue to have only opinions of people, not the mind of Christ, to direct us. Our entire mission will be in peril. 

-- Henry Blackaby in “What the Spirit Is Saying to the Churches”


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AN UNLIMITED BROADCASTING SYSTEM

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”  (Psalm 19:1-4a NIV)

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.

-- George Washington Carver 



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Psalm 19:1

LISTENING TO THE SHEPHERD

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and My sheep follow Me.”  (John 10:27)

I believe God talks to us. Have I heard God speak to me in an audible voice? No.

Sometimes He speaks to me through Scripture. Sometimes He speaks to me through the words of a song, through reading or a sermon, through a quote of advice or admonition, through the honesty of a child, from a billboard or a bumper sticker, through a conversation with a family member or friend.

He always tells me things that are in line with His Holy Word. He does not always give me all the details. His information is always correct. When I follow His directions I will make no mistakes. He brings to pass everything He says.

I am amazed and humbled to realize that an awesome, omnipotent, sovereign God would want to communicate with me. But that’s one of the reasons He created us: He wants us to have fellowship with Him. People have tried to explain how to hear the voice of God. In my opinion, nobody has been able to describe it fully. I believe God’s sheep know the Shepherd’s voice by faith.

-- Thelma Wells, quoted in “In this Quiet Place: Discovering the Pleasures of Prayer"

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