Did God Really Say…??
Day 1
Years ago, I heard a sermon from my pastor at the time. To be honest, I don’t remember anything from the sermon except the title. The title alone still challenges me today, some 30 years later. The title was, “Never Doubt in the Darkness What God Tells You in the Light”. How many times have we been guilty of this? In our times with God, we sense Him speaking, giving direction, challenging, or even convicting. Yet when we step out of His presence into our routines, the intensity of what we heard lessens, and what we experienced becomes challenged in our minds. We think, “Maybe I just got caught up in the moment.” “Maybe I’m getting a little over-spiritual.” “Maybe it was just me.” And so, it goes.
It’s interesting that even in the most well-known temptations in the Bible; Satan did not come with an obvious “in-your-face” temptation. He didn’t come right out to Eve in the Garden of Eden and say, “Defy God! Be a rebel and eat the fruit He told you not to eat.” Rather, it started as something simple and subtle; “Did God really say…?” Most know the story found in Genesis 3, but this simple question sparked a flame that still rages today. When God speaks to us, His direction cannot become diluted when we leave His presence.
Even Jesus was tempted by Satan this same way. In Matthew 3-4, Jesus is baptized in water and then led into the wilderness. There Satan starts to try and tempt Jesus with the same tactic, “If… You are the Son of God…”
Wait… If?? Let’s back up and remember this whole time of temptation immediately followed His baptism by John the Baptist. Jesus comes up out of the water, the Spirit descended on Him, and the audible voice of the Father says – “You ARE... My Son in Whom I am well pleased.” Now, immediately following, He goes to the wilderness and faces these questions from Satan trying to get Jesus to second-guess what happened, who He is, and what God so clearly stated about Him - “If You are the Son of God…”
Satan also took the Word of God itself and twisted it. He said to Jesus, “it is written….” He took the very words of God and twisted them to say something that it didn’t mean. But Jesus knew what God said and wasn’t going to be deceived. He knew the intent of the Scripture because God’s Word was rooted deep inside Him. He knew God’s direction, His heart, and His plan. Jesus wasn’t going to let Satan distort or dilute what He knew God said, and we should be that way as well. God’s Word needs to be settled deeply within us to the point where we are unshakable, living by His voice and the direction He gives - not wavering when the tempter comes to us (especially in trying times) and asks, “Did God really say…?” We need to guard against him coming to us and getting us to doubt what we’ve heard, read, or what we’ve been taught. In those times we have been waiting patiently or maybe even enduring patiently, we can’t allow the devil to diminish or water down what we know to be from God in order to make it match what our eyes see or don’t see. We need to be a people who never doubt in the darkness, what God tells us in the light.
Reflection: Lord, You made a promise to Jeremiah that I request of myself. You said You would make him immovable, and that he would be like a fortified city and wall of bronze. Help me to be that steadfast when it comes to what You have said, unshaken and undistracted when my enemy and even just the events of life would make me second guess what You have said.
Scripture:
2 Corinthians 5:7
Hebrews 10:35-12:3
Day 2
Following up on Day One of “Did God Really Say…??”, we need to be a people who have God’s Word settled inside of us. From a doctrinal perspective as well as a personal perspective.
Doctrinally, we need to understand what His Word says so we are unmovable and not easily swayed when the tempter comes to confuse or distort by using “every wind of doctrine.” In this time in history, there are so many voices, resources, books, podcasts, media, etc. Voices that will tell us exactly what our itching ears want to hear. Everything from feel-good messages to overly aggressive messages, and everything in between and potentially full of inaccuracy. We need to be like the Bereans in Acts 17 who listened but then searched out what was spoken on their own to see if it was true, researching diligently so inaccurate teaching didn’t take root.
We also need to know what His Word is to us from a personal perspective. We need His direction, correction, encouragement, and promise sealed inside of us as well. One thing about many Christians that concerns me is how lacking we seem to be in this area. We seem to take the smallest circumstance we encounter and take that as a sign of God’s direction or a Word from God. We become like the people of Malta in Acts 28 who saw a viper attack the Apostle Paul. The people concluded that because of this, Paul must have been a murderer. Then, after Paul shakes himself free with no ill effects, they go the opposite direction and conclude that he was a god. They went from judging Paul as a murderer to a god in a very short period of time and based solely on interpretation of circumstance. Why not just do things the right way? We’ve covered this in other devotionals, but it bears revisiting. Why not just put the time and effort into spending time with the Father and His Word, developing that relationship and the discernment that flows from it? We know to be healthy we need to eat right and exercise, but how much money do we spend on weight loss schemes? We know financial stability comes from wise spending and saving but still look for easier ways. The same thing applies to knowing God’s will. We must be disciplined and put the time and the effort in. We need that private time. We need that seeking time. We need that... ‘I’m just going to sit here with my mouth shut until I hear from You’ time. And His voice or direction may not come in those times, but I firmly believe that if we plant that seed, it will bear fruit and come to harvest at some point, somewhere.
Most importantly, we have the Holy Spirit. One of the purposes of the Holy Spirit is to “remind us of what He said” (John 14:26). John 16:13 explains that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth and will also disclose to us what is to come. 1 Cor. 2: 9-16 tells us how the Spirit reveals to us the deep things of God. I would invite you to spend time reading and meditating on these Scriptures and the role that the Holy Spirit can have in our life.
Reflection: Help me to draw near to You and to know Your voice so that the voice of another I will not follow. Help me to hear You accurately and interpret wisely what You are saying. I ask for Your Holy Spirit to come and help me with these things and give me an ear that hears and a heart that understands.
Scripture:
Psalm 119:105
John 10:3-5 and 27
Psalm 32:8
Isaiah 30:21
Day 3
Something else that may help from a practical standpoint is journaling. Writing down what we feel God is telling us in these seeking times, along with our interpretations and feelings at that time. God told Habakkuk and other prophets to write down what He was sharing with them – for obvious reasons, but this is also a good practice for us. Why?
- To help us evaluate. It helps us as we strive to understand God’s voice. We have a record of what we believe God spoke to us and can evaluate it down the road and judge its accuracy – right or wrong. The danger with this is sometimes God’s word or promise to us can take time, so we don’t want to prematurely dismiss what we believe was God speaking just because we haven’t seen it yet. Look at Abraham and many of the others mentioned in Hebrews 11 from Day 1’s reading. Writing it down allows us to revisit it. To bring it before the Father and inquire of Him as to its accuracy (on our part) or ask the Holy Spirit to confirm it inside us.
- To remind us. Remind us of what God said. We need to have it written down to remind us of what we felt God said or what He promised. Maybe God had challenged us in some area or called us to do something that we may have started, but at some point, stopped and ultimately forgot about.
- To provide clarity at a later time. Satan will come trying to get you to doubt or try to twist what you heard. Having it recorded in the moment helps dismiss any confusion in the future and will be a reminder of exactly what happened and all that was said, since detail tends to fade in our memories. On the opposite side of that, how many prophecies do we have recorded in Scripture that were misinterpreted and misunderstood at the time it was given? Look at the Pharisees and how they just couldn’t comprehend that Jesus was fulfilling all these prophesies about Him. They knew and memorized these prophecies yet couldn’t or wouldn’t make the connection. It can be the same for us. Maybe we misinterpreted a promise made by God or a Scripture flagged in our spirit by the Holy Spirit. Revisiting these journals may bring to light that the promise was true and fulfilled, maybe just not how we were thinking in the moment.
Remember, this is all a process. Unless God starts to use you supernaturally in this area, it’s going to take time and learning – just like any relationship or any discipline. Don’t be hard on yourself if you occasionally miss it. This process of recording can help us as we ‘learn to discern.’ Figuring out which voice is just us - our mind, our desires, or His voice. But let’s not get weary or frustrated. This skill is essential, especially as the days progress toward His coming. What is coming is not for the weak, undisciplined, or untrained. Let’s get ourselves ready, lets figure it out, and never doubt in the darkness what God tells us in the light.
Reflection: Lord, I thank You for Your Bible and the promises in some of these verses below that say if I seek You, I will find You and You will be my guide. Help me as I purpose to move forward in developing this relationship with You.
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 4:29
Jeremiah 29:13
Isaiah 55:6-12
Isaiah 58:11
Isaiah 48:17