Hearing God: Never Alone (part 2)

There are two big ideas from the last part of chapter two of Willard’s “Hearing God”…both of which are important in approaching a conversational relationship with Him:

The first big idea is how God communicates.  The primary mode of communication from God to humankind is via the Word of God.  The Bible is literally God’s Word to us preserved in written form, and it is still speaking today.  Consider Psalm 119 or this passage from 2 Timothy:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

Another way God speaks today is through immersion with Him in His work.  We have all experienced an occasion when we were working so closely with someone that we knew exactly what was coming next…without a word being spoken.  In some cases, Willard write, “our need to wonder about or be told what God wants in a certain situation is nothing short of a clear indication of how little we are engaged in His work”.  Ouch…that is a convicting thought.

So, there is a place for blind faith, feelings of closeness and supernatural experiences  in our relationship with God, but they cannot take the place of communication with Him via His Word and our shared activity.

The second big idea is how we sometimes mistakenly view God’s communication with us. 

1. The message-a-minute view.  In this view, God is (or could be or wants to be) constantly telling us what to do at every turn, always directing the intimate details of His followers.  I don’t think there is evidence of that in Scripture, in fact I would say the opposite is true (Psalm 32:8-9)…what He wants is to build our character to the point that our actions reflect His.
2. The it’s-all-in-the-Bible view.  The Bible is not necessarily intended as a step-by-step guide to make daily decisions, and cannot be taken as such.  It can be used by God to communicate His will to us, but as 2 Timothy 3 says, it’s job is to equip us to do good work, not tell us every detail of what to do.  God’s Word changes us from in inside out, enabling us to know Him and do His will.
3. The whatever-comes-view.  We often fall into the trap of believing whatever comes down the path of life is His will.  There are many reasons for this being dangerous, one of which is the fact that we are in a position of deciding (to some degree) what is to come.  In other words, the fact that something happens does not indicate that it was God’s will for it to happen.  He allows His creation to take steps that He would not have chosen for them.

Do you agree or disagree with Willard on these three ways we can mistakenly view God’s communication with us?  When have you taken these views?

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