Who You Say I Am: Day 2
Download the PDF Here:
Who You Say I Am Devo Day 2
Sign up to have the devotionals emailed to you:
Sign UP
DAY TWO
Yesterday I shared about identity, and now we are going to continue this topic but heading in a slightly different direction.
I believe that if you are going to be confident in your identity, you need to hear from the One who knows you best and loves you most. So, we are going to look at some different ways to hear from God.
God is speaking to us all the time, but just like when we’re listening to a radio station out of tune, we need to “tune in” to hear clearly how he speaks for us. I believe people are spiritual. We were designed and created as spiritual creatures so that we connect with God and accept what He has freely given us – for our own growth and to be an influence for the Kingdom.
I want you to really hear me.
Even if you don’t know if you believe in God, if you’re not sure where you are in your relationship with Him, or if you are a sold out follower of Jesus – I believe He is speaking to you, even if right now you can’t hear Him, and He wants to connect with you.
That being said, it’s not always easy to hear from Him.
I tried to figure out the right sequence of events to hear from God. If I heard someone share about what they had heard from God, I became like a journalist. I pulled my little coiled notebook out of my purse, found a pen and then said “Okay, start at the beginning! Tell me everything—what you were wearing, where and how you were sitting, what time of day was it” etc. etc. etc.
I wanted to know exactly the right things to do to prepare myself to hear from God, not realizing it was more about my heart & relationship with Him that tuned me into His voice. It’s by spending more time listening & learning to recognize His voice that began to change it for me. However, sometimes it can be a high pressure situation that moves you from thinking about hearing Him into taking action.
We were away for a lead team planning & learning time up at Clear Lake, when Nathan says “We are going to break for about an hour or so. Spend some time listening to God and come back with a word of encouragement, affirmation, or a picture for each person in the room. And go!”
Well let me tell you, I was not prepared for this!! I remember praying “God please show up or I am going to have to make stuff up and that is just wrong!” I tried doing it like everyone else, they were just sitting in their spots, praying and writing down all kinds of things and me … the clock was too loud, someone was getting a snack in the kitchen- maybe I’m hungry, I hear footsteps upstairs – I wonder what they are doing. It was not working for me.
So I decided to go for a walk, nature is definitely a God connecting point for me, and began to pray. My mind was wandering a bit, so I put on some worship music – Lauren Daigle – to me, her words are like hearing directly from God- and I began to hear! At first, words and then pictures and then cool visions and I got something for each person. My mind was blown, in the best possible way!!
It was a beautiful moment for me, realizing that He does want to speak to me – not just everyone else but me. Our relationship went to a new level that day. I felt His love for me was real, tangible, which is something I had never felt before.
Can you hear from Him that way too?
Absolutely, 100%, es cierto, absolutamente – you just need to practice & keep trying.
He is talking, we just need to learn how to hear His voice.
There are four main categories for hearing from God, and I think many, many subcategories, but for time’s sake we will just focus on four.
Hearers hear God’s voice in words.
Feelers feel and experience the emotions of God.
Seers see in pictures, dreams, and visions.
Knowers know in their minds what is true.
Of the four personalities, pay attention to the one that resonates most with you, or maybe describes something you have experienced but never made the connection to God speaking before.
We are designed by God for relationship. We crave intimacy and safe, nourishing environments, it’s in our DNA!! It can come through our family & friends but is ultimately put in us for our relationship with our heavenly Father. All of these personalities draw us closer or even into a first-time connection with God. They are an active part of a relationship, which is super important in ALL relationships. It requires us to pay attention, to listen, and spend time together.
Let’s look a little closer at these 4:
Knower
Knowers often experience “lightbulb moments”. They’ll go about their days and suddenly, something clicks. They just know what they are supposed to do. It might be as simple as someone coming to mind that you need to text/call, or you give someone a gift that you just knew you were supposed to buy for them.
You might have examples from your own experiences. I have definitely had moments where that has happened and usually it is confirmed that it was from God because the person needed to hear from you, or that gift came at just the right moment.
Hearer
It is as simple as it sounds, these people hear from God and learn from what they hear. Sometimes this is an audible word from Him but sometimes it may be a feeling of confidence that “God said”. I think it is important to note that if you are not sure that what you are hearing is from God remember, what you hear should be for the edification, encouragement, and empowering of the church.
If it is overly critical, judgemental, or condemning it is most likely not from God! This is not a personality I am really strong in, but is one I definitely want to grow into, because I truly believe revival will come as people who love Jesus begin to hear his heart & voice for others and with confidence & boldness share it.
Seer
These are visionaries, dreamers filled with faith when they encounter a picture from God. Often these are pictures of the future – what is to come which brings hope & possibility. You can read a story about a seer in Habakkuk 2:2-3. And sometimes they are pictures for the moment, to help build up the faith in others, maybe even expose them to the possibility of God – that He sees them, knows them and that they matter to Him.
Feeler
I saved this one for last because this is the one I am strongest in – although I have experienced most of the others at least one time. I am understanding more about being a feeler as I spend time with God listening, which I really had to learn how to do because I LOVE to talk. I am emotional, I am a crier, I can enter into how you are feeling to offer support, I see God in the small details of life that others might miss or think that I am WAY too excited about.
For most of my life I thought this was just because I was a weak, emotional female. That was the way it was looked at in my family. I had no idea it was how God created me to be and that it is because I connect deeply with His emotions. When I hear it described like that, I no longer feel it is a weakness, but rather a superpower from the one who is the most powerful! Throughout my life I can see specific ways God has manifested Himself to me through the things I feel, and how I can share His love, compassion, and grace because of it.
Those are some short descriptions of how we can hear from God. And I’d love for you to keep diving into them. You can learn even more about how you hear from our Hearing God workshop that we host a few times a year.
After you are done reading this devotional, spend some time listening. See if God speaks to you in one of these 4 ways. Or maybe you already identify with one of these, so you could listen for a specific person and then share with them what you heard. These gifts/personalities are not just for us, but they are to help build faith and encourage others. Ready … go for it!
I believe the Father has something for you today, all you need to do is listen.