Sometimes, we will not know that God is speaking for sure until the confirmation comes such as in the cases mentioned last week on part one of the blog. I mentioned the accident, the person stealing the mail, and confirmation that an address was wrong, but if the voice sounds like wisdom that isn’t contrary to the Word of God and could help us in some way; then taking that step of faith will not hurt us, but only help us. Sometimes, what God is trying to say clearly unfolds later as we walk by faith. Each time we see the result; we will grow a little more in hearing and following the voice of God. Take the example of Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples below.
Peter hesitated to obey God’s voice because God spoke to him in an unexpected way. You see, God was causing a shift in the culture of the Jews and Gentiles, and He wanted the message to be clear to his disciple Peter who he would use to communicate the message. Peter, even though learned in Jewish tradition was to allow himself to be pliable through faith in what God was saying in that moment in order to carry out God’s plan. Likewise, when God is causing a shift in our lives, we have to remain pliable in our faith and response to the Lord as well.
God showed Peter a vision of unclean meat telling him to kill and eat it. At first, Peter said no, rejecting what the Lord was saying because Peter was used to doing things in a particular way. Maybe, Peter in that moment questioned if that was really God sharing with him to kill and eat unclean meat because in the old testament God told them not to eat the meat. He was used to not eating certain meet considered unclean. Peter did not get a confirmation of what God was saying until he met with Cornelius. It was at that time that the meaning of the vision became clear to Peter. The vision Peter received had been metaphorical of the relationship between the Jews and Gentiles. The Jews were used to not associating with the Gentiles, but God was causing a shift in thinking for his purpose.
He wanted the Jews and Gentiles to both receive salvation, and to be on one accord. If Peter had of gotten stuck in his understanding and his way of doing things; he would have missed out on the move of God that was going on during that time. Peter, later in scripture, still struggled with this idea, but he submitted to it because he knew it was God. God is not asking us to be perfect in always knowing everything or doing everything perfectly, but he is asking us to have faith and obey him when he speaks. This is what Peter did in this instant, and Cornelius’ whole family along with many others experienced salvation and the infilling of the Holy Ghost because of the proper revelation taught by the early Apostles including Peter.
Sometimes, in order to get to the next place in life we have to let go of how we hear and obey God and stepping out on our faith to apply just what he is saying, while waiting for the confirmation later. If we are wrong, at least we stepped out in faith, but if we are acquainted with the Word of God we will not be grossly wrong, so stepping out in faith while hearing God’s voice in an unfamiliar way will not hurt us.
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