Make it black and white. Can I hear a voice? I need to know.
There are so many decisions to make and I want to make the right choices. What should I do?
How do you know what to do?
A good Christian friend once told me to ‘throw out a fleece’ like Gideon did when I have decisions to make. I thought about it. In God’s word, I read that God sent an angel to tell Gideon that "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior", " Am I not sending you?", and " I will be with you". Judges 6: 12-16. But Gideon still wanted a sign to prove that it really was the LORD speaking to him. So God proceeded to ‘pass’ Gideon’s tests.
When my friend suggested I throw out a fleece, it just didn’t feel right to me. I’m pretty sure that I would be instantly convinced if an angel came and gave me a message from God. You know the angels God sent were so big and impressive that usually the first thing they said was "Fear not", right? This is not a normal-sized average-looking person. I think I’m tuned in to God well enough that I would automatically believe what this huge, supernatural creature said.
It doesn’t feel right to ask God to jump through a bunch of hoops before I obey him. It makes more sense that Gideon did this because he lived under the Old Testament covenant – he was not ‘redeemed’. Christ had not come yet and he didn’t have God’s Spirit living inside of him.
But I do.
The Holy Spirit speaks to me and guides me into truth – if I’m listening. God’s Word is alive and the Holy Spirit uses it to help me make decisions. I have God’s Spirit inside of me every moment of every day – why do I need a sign? I have found that I don’t need to throw out any fleeces if I’m regularly listening to God’s voice and spending time with him.
In my experience, God not only speaks directly to me, he also lines up circumstances around me to confirm what the Holy Spirit and God’s Word are saying to me. There are no ‘coincidences’ in my life – that’s God guiding me. I don’t have to ask for something more – I just need to keep my eyes and ears open. His answer is there.
Every once in a while, I hit a deadline on making a decision and I haven’t discerned God’s answer yet. I have found that when I totally submit whatever the situation is to God – meaning I don’t care what the answer is, I just need to know what he wants me to do – he helps me organize my thoughts and I realize he’s been trying to guide me in the right direction, trying to show me the way. I’ve just been distracted and clueless.
No fleeces involved.
Black and white.
No more questions.
Thank you, Abba Father.
Judy