"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." John 10:4
There I was stumbling into the house in the middle of the night. Thankful that I was safe, but distraught over once again having given in to my struggle with alcohol. I knew it was wrong to get drunk. I knew I should not have been drinking and driving. I knew I should not have been up all hours of the night engaging in Lord knows what. I knew that it bothered people closest to me. I knew better. But, I could not stop. What made it worse was that at this time I was a born again Christian. Therefore, each time I finished hanging out with friends there was that inevitable conversation, more like a plea, with God not to give up on me and cast me into the fires of hell. When you combined my religious background with my immaturity in my faith, it made for a recipe of sheer guilt and fear when it came to my relationship with God. In my mind, He was no doubt ashamed of me at best and finished with me at worst. That night all my frustration and fear came out in a desperate question to God. Tired, emotional, and unable to sleep, I cried out to Him, "How do I stop?" I don't remember if I received a reply that night or a short time later, but it eventually happened. Although this happened over 20 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. God spoke to me. He said, "Stop hanging out with your friends." That was it. There was no long conversation like you see written about in the Bible. Just a quick and succinct sentence. It changed my life. Aside from a sip of wine at a wedding, I haven't touched alcohol, much less been drunk in over 20 years. It was sometime later that I remembered an experience that occurred prior to the one above that makes me believe that God spoke to me again when I was inebriated. After drinking too much at a happy hour one Friday evening, I was driving to go meet my friends at another establishment. Oddly enough, my route took me past my home. I was sitting at a stoplight when out of nowhere I hear, "Go home!" I did. My friends would reach out to me later wondering where I was at and I told them I was too drunk to be out. I didn't tell them that I heard a voice nor did I tell them that I had a feeling something bad would happen if I didn't go home. A few years ago, my father was dealing with severe back pain. It was so intense that he said the pain was worse than when he suffered a stroke. At a loss for how to take care of him, I turned to the Lord for help. God said, "Love him." That is all, just "love him." I believe God knew what that would mean to me for Him to say that and I did. It calmed me down. Thankfully, we were able to get his pain under control.
What is interesting in all these examples is that they are all personal encounters with my God. They don't even include the times He has revealed the meaning of scripture to me. People, including Christians, find it difficult to believe that God speaks to people. Unbelievers, who resist the idea of there even being a God, cannot comprehend that He would communicate with us. If you are one of these people, you must ask yourself one question. Are there people you know that others do not? If so, then ask yourself another question. Does the existence of the person you know require those who do not know them to acknowledge their existence? Of course not. If that is the case with you and your friend, why can't a person know God and communicate with Him apart from you having to know Him? If you are a Christian and do not believe God has spoken to you, that is okay. In time He will. Also, be aware that there are different ways God can communicate with His children. First and foremost is through the illumination of scripture. When you come to an understanding of the Bible, you did not previously have, that is God teaching you. Sometimes God will send you "God Winks" to remind you of His presence as well. These could vary from moments where you feel God has protected you from harm, to be able to enjoy a beautiful sunset, a chance encounter with an animal out in nature, or countless other experiences. They could all be ways God is speaking to you based on your knowledge of Him and what He wants to reveal to you. Jesus Christ said that His sheep know His voice and follow Him because He is their Shepherd. Remember, God indwells you because of the presence of His Holy Spirit. Whether it has been in the past, the present, or sometime in the future, He will communicate with you because you are His. He knows you and is in a relationship with you. Communication is key to any relationship. Trust that your God will speak to you. One of the challenges of being a Christian, at least for me, is the feeling that you have to know everything about God and the Bible. Otherwise, if you don't, then perhaps your faith in Jesus Christ is futile. This could not be further from the truth. When I begin to experience those feelings, I come back to those times when I heard the voice of my God speak to me or when He revealed the meaning of scripture to me. If the one, true God of the Bible, the Creator of all things, and the one guaranteeing my salvation, has spoken to me, then I know the things He has revealed to me are true and I can trust Him with those things I do not yet know or understand. He is my God and my Shepherd. I am His sheep and know His voice.
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