Him coming into my life was not like I thought it would be:

  • Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
I am starting to understand that I need to give God space, but also appreciate His giving me time.

I'm a bit cold, toward God though - not sure what I should do about that?
 

amadeus

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2008
22,394
31,446
113
80
Oklahoma
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
I am starting to understand that I need to give God space, but also appreciate His giving me time.

I'm a bit cold, toward God though - not sure what I should do about that?
Mt 6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mt 6:34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gottservant

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
The Lord said "in weakness my strength is made perfect", I feel like God needs to weaken me, before I will hear Him.

The Lord told me to pray for humility, because I would need it. So I pray that along with the Lord's Prayer and a few other additions, and it is important that we repent of our ways; which means that we acknowledge that it is not our way and our thinking that is needed, but His way and His thinking - which is why we find that we need to repent in Rev 3:19 before He explains in Rev 3:20 that He is standing there and knocking with His voice and if anyone hears and opens the door He will come into them...

Still - that repenting is not so formal as we tend to think, it is what happened when we actually decided to listen to Him. That is to say - if we finally decide we are going to seek His voice and just listen to Him, we must have decided that it was not our ways and our thinking that was going to work for us. So, we just have to seek Him!! The repenting happened and also the recognition that we are not Him (as in we are week and need Him to succeed).

So it does not actually sound like that is a problem for you, otherwise you wouldn't worry about it. From my experience working with people in ministry, it sounds more like you just need encouragement to believe He is there to answer you. Let me give you examples of what I am saying.

For five years the Lord had me working in a Christian healing ministry. The people would come in and write what they wanted prayer for, then the person at the front desk took that paper and folded it in half. It was given to us already folded and we didn't look at it. What we did do was ask the Lord to give us something to write down for them. So we asked and had to listen for what He gave us. We then wrote that down on a small legal pad. He would actually give me a lot more than what I wrote down, because I also needed to know how He wanted us to proceed, since I spent most of that five years there leading a prayer team (of which we usually had about ten teams)

Still, we wanted everyone in the team to get something from the Lord, and that included newer members who often were not used to listening to the Lord. It turned out that they too could hear from the Lord, but it also turned out that they often had trouble believing they could. So, I sometimes needed to give them encouragement. Let me give you a few examples of this:

Perhaps my favorite story was when I was encouraging a new person on the team to listen and the lady kept telling me that she must be wrong. So, I press her a little to tell me what she was picking up. She told me that it couldn't be right, because she kept getting bow and arrows. She concluded that is was just too silly, so it must be her and not the Lord. I explained to her that we asked Jesus Christ, and that is what she was saying she got, so let's just put it down anyway. If it didn't mean anything, then it was no problem.

So we called in the person to pray for them. And we did a lot of praying. That person wanted direction from the Lord, because her and her husband were looking at a few different things to work on, and they needed direction from the Lord. We prayed, but the lady didn't get much. So finally we decided to go over what we had written on the legal pad. When I explain that the new member had heard 'bow and arrows' the person we were praying for almost freaked out. It turned out that one of the things the person and husband were considering doing was making bows and arrows and selling them for a living. She got her prayer request answered and that new person on our team, who didn't think it was the Lord talking to her, was the very person on the team who was given the word of knowledge from the Lord. So often the Lord used the new person, apparently to show that He can use anyone and that He too wants to encourage the new person to believe He can talk to them.

Let me give another similar example. In the same way, I had another new person on my team, and we prayed for something from the Lord. Again, the new person didn't think what they got was from the Lord. So I asked what they got and was told they saw some strange antique lamp and something about the persons jaw. But she explained that it couldn't be right. Again I just told her to put it down, and don't worry about if it is right or not. Again we brought the person to be prayed for in. This time we went of the paper early on. I had the new person just explain what she got, and again the person being prayed for got excited. It turned out that her favorite lamp was this antique lamp she had gotten passed down from her mom.

And it also turned out that she was having problems with her jaw. She was thinking about having us pray for it, so that was not on the paper when we did unfold it, but she was in pain. It often would amazed me that Christians would come into our Christian healing ministry and would think they should put down the physical problem they were having.

Anyway, since it was the new person who had gotten the word from the Lord, I had her do the praying for the healing. The new member on the team really was very nervous about taking on the responsibility to pray for the person, but I explained that the healing was not on her at all. It was the Lord who was going to do the healing, not her. So, it was His responsibility for the result and not hers. She just needed to do the praying, and I would help guide her through that part. So, the prayer was made and the person being prayed for got her healing.

In another example of the new person on the team not believing they could hear from the Lord, I again had everyone on the team to pray for something from the Lord. The other members, including myself, asked and wrote down what we got, yet the new member was certain that she was getting anything. So we again asked our Lord Jesus Christ to give her something, and again she said she wasn't getting anything, Now it is not like the Lord to not do His part, so I pressed her just a little about what might have come to her. So explained that she only picked up "joyfull". I then picked up the legal pad which we had all written on, and pointed to what I had gotten from the Lord which was "Joy". I looked at her and told her that it looks like we are listening to the same Lord. And it turned out that the person coming in for prayer had been feeling a bit down and things were not quite going right in their life. Yeah- joy was needed and the Lord is good at giving us Joy when needed. Indeed, the Joy of the Lord is our strength - which seems to take us back to your comments.

So, does the Lord need to weaken you, or perhaps He is looking to just give you more strength by giving you words or encouragement to help you believe that you can and do hear from Him?? Seek Him, and go with what you get and see if that doesn't give you "joy" and make you "joyful".
 

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
I love that you love God and you talk.

It seems like God would tell me more, but first He wants to give my mind a workout (while I try to figure out His assignment to me - I mean it must be an assignment, because all He does at the moment, is hand it over to me).

I think the thing for me, is that I have been forgiven little, so I love little.
 

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
I love that you love God and you talk.

It seems like God would tell me more, but first He wants to give my mind a workout (while I try to figure out His assignment to me - I mean it must be an assignment, because all He does at the moment, is hand it over to me).

I think the thing for me, is that I have been forgiven little, so I love little.
Yeah - that indeed sounds like Him - except for the concern about you being forgiven a little, but you will understand that more as you go.

He does indeed want to teach us. That will not stop, so yes He would tell you that He wants to give your mind a workout. And you also heard Him about the 'while I try to figure out His assignments to you'.

The first thing so many people who come to the Lord want to know is; 'what is their ministry?' Yet that is not the important thing, and He will get you into it when He thinks best. What He wants is the personal relationship with us!!!

I know that is not the impression the church gives you, and that is what the title of the thread is all about. Indeed, God doesn't need us to accomplish what He wants done, but instead He chooses to include us in His works! It is part of Him teaching us.

Now as for the other part, the loving Him more because you have been forgiven more; it turns out that the more we talk to Him the more we find out what sinners we are. Therefore, the more we talk to Him, the more we ask Him to forgive us. Now He has already forgiven us at the cross, but is something written about if someone comes to you 70 times 7 times and ask for forgiveness you need to forgive them. So, our love for Him grows the more we are taught by Him, simply because with His teaching also comes the awareness of how much we sin. If that doesn't make sense to you yet, it will.

Consider this: All unrighteousness is sin. And how well do we even know what the right thing to do is? Do you even know for sure what the right words to say are? I don't! So every word you said in your life might not have been the right thing to say! Yet He is able to forgive all you sins, including every word you spoke without checking with Him and hearing Him first! Jesus said He did and said only what the Father told Him, and He still does to this very day. So He alone, as the Word of God, is righteous in all His ways! Not even the angels in heaven are righteous in all their ways, but they are all counted as righteous because they listen to the Lord and go about doing what He asks them the best they can - and they love Him because they understand that He alone is righteous. And it is written that you will be like the angels in heaven!

Anyway, don't worry about that. The Lord will teach you all the above and soooooo much more. But it all starts by listening to Him so that, as you wrote, He will give your "mind a workout".

You got a nice word from Him :)
 

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
So much to learn, so much to learn.

Yeah, But it is not to be work but rather it is to make us better and also to keep us intrigued -- and most importantly it is to bring us closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

When a father teaches his son, is it not for all those reasons? So His teaching us is really about His love for us, is it not?

One of the more incredible things in the Bible is that Jesus learned obedience by going to the cross. - Think about it..... How long had Jesus been around, considering all things were made through Him? A cosmologist will tell you the universe has been around some 13 or 14 billion years, so if we think they might be right, then Jesus has been around at least that long and He still was learning when He took on flesh a couple of thousand years ago!

I have been listening and learning from Him for 20 years and the one thing I know is that He always seems to be teaching me things! It is something that makes knowing Him so interesting! And from what I hear, Him teaching me is the way it is going to continue to be. So the person I can't understand is the person who say they know the Lord, but that all we need to know is in the Bible. By saying that they clearly stated that they really don't know the Lord at all, because they don't even know that He is the Teacher and that is not going to change, as far as I can see. I mean if He has been around over 13 billion years and was still learning, I am obviously going to need more time than that to learn, because He is a whole lot smarter than me.

"So much to learn" is not a bad thing!! It is a wonderful thing!! I mean, if we like going to a museum how much more are we going to like travel the millions of galaxies, and that is just talking about the physical realm. The angels that serve Him are also interesting to know and I don't think I could count the number of them either.

So YEAH!!! We have some much to learn - AWESOME!
 
  • Love
Reactions: Gottservant

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
God loves what you are saying, here.

He said to say "your word is encouraging Me"

Are you wise enough to add faith, to your gift? For me?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Karl Peters

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
God loves what you are saying, here.

He said to say "your word is encouraging Me"

Are you wise enough to add faith, to your gift? For me?
Thank you for listening to Him. His words are always encouraging whether they come in a mist or a snowstorm (words that gently revive us or words that chill us to the bone like Woe to those..), and one of His names is Wisdom. And of course, Jesus Christ is God's gift to man-kind. So the real encouragement is always in listening to Him, and then doing what He says.

It's written, 'What you hear whispered in your ear, shout on the housetops.' So thank you again for listening to Him and doing what He asks. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gottservant

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
I'm struggling with the Groundhog day phenomenon: I think I work out how to talk to God, then the next Day, I have forgotten again.

I am gradually falling further and further behind. God has done things, and I don't know what they are.

I know its for a purpose, that I value my time or something, but then I look at the wonderful things God shares with you and I think "can't I do even a little bit of that, consistently?"

I'm not worshipping you, but I feel like there is some kind of Wisdom I am missing out on, here.
 

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
I'm struggling with the Groundhog day phenomenon: I think I work out how to talk to God, then the next Day, I have forgotten again.

I am gradually falling further and further behind. God has done things, and I don't know what they are.

I know its for a purpose, that I value my time or something, but then I look at the wonderful things God shares with you and I think "can't I do even a little bit of that, consistently?"

I'm not worshipping you, but I feel like there is some kind of Wisdom I am missing out on, here.

What I do is ask Jesus Christ questions!!!

It is as simple as it sounds - but remember - His thoughts are not your thoughts.

Also - the first words of that snake in the garden were - "Did God really say..."

So from what you have written - it is clear to see that you are not falling further and further behind, but perhaps that snake has been saying, "Did God really say..."??

I looked at the couple of things you said you heard from the Lord and it certainly looks like you are hearing our Jesus Christ - which would expected. And this last post looks like you are also hearing "Did God really say...: which would also be expected, because of the principle we find in the Bible and that Paul wrote about.

Rom 7: 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

It does not look like you are fallen behind - it looks like you are getting ahead, but that snake of old is trying to hold you back. And of course that is the case, because it is written;

Eph 6:11,12 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Perhaps you might want to re-examine the pieces in the armor of God and talk to the Lord about them?

Eph 6:14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,

So you have the Truth, who is Jesus Christ girding you up, right? You can hear from Him.

He has made you righteous in the eyes of God for His names sake, right? So for God's purpose, - you are righteous in His eyes -even when you are not righteous in your eyes, right?

Eph 6:15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;

It looks like to me, that you are walking in the gospel of peace, right? You can always talk to the Lord about that, and confirm that, right?

Eph 6:16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Of course, we hear the Lord because we do believe that He is there to be heard from, right? And clearly you do hear from Him. So, those words which usually have something to do with, "Did God really say", are easily extinguish by just going back and asking our Lord Jesus Christ if indeed He really said, "..." Going back the Lord and asking Him again about what He told you gives that snake a huge problem, right? Because that snake did not want you hearing Him by faith, which is why he says, "Did God really say..." - So if every time that snake tells you "Did God really say..." you simply turn back the Lord and start talking to the Lord again, then the very thing the devil was doing for evil is turning to good. How frustrated that snake must fell then?

Eph 6:17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And when all else seems to fail, you still have salvation, right? If that knowledge is on your head, how then can that snake keep you from the Lord???? He can't -- That snake is never ever ever ever - going to be able to separate you from the Lord!! Yet at some point in the future the Lord is going to separate that snake from us. That serpent of old is going into the lake of fire, as we go on with the Lord. Indeed, we are told of a day when we won't even remember these times.

Is 61: 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind

21 Peter 3:13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Ok - so now we have to put up with that serpent, but he cannot separate us from Jesus Christ the Lord our God. We can still seek Him and listen to Him. Maybe that snake gets us to forget that, but even that does not separate us from Him. Maybe that snake gets us a bit confused and causes us to doubt, but that does not separate us from our Lord Jesus Christ

WE can pick up "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." and cut the head (that part of the snake which says "Did God really say..") so that snake is shut up!! Ok - that snake seems to grow other heads, but we can take care of them too by simply turning back to the Lord and asking Him a question!
 
  • Love
Reactions: Gottservant

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
[...] What I do is ask Jesus Christ questions!!! [...]
I get what you are saying "the Devil is against you hearing from God" that makes a lot of sense.

And the Lord is giving you words, that speak to my heart (I could tell you why, but you would say "its silly")

I wonder if I died to the flesh more, I would hear God?

EDIT: I tried it and it was like He wrote in my heart, "I encourage you more than you know"

EDIT #2: It's like everything He says to me, is something He wants written down... that might be a good thing?
 
Last edited:

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
I tried it and it was like He wrote in my heart, "I encourage you more than you know"

Yeah - that's Him alright.

The more listen to Him the more we find out that He is actually running the whole show. If He didn't encourage us to seek Him, we wouldn't.

It has to do with Him giving us free will, and are wanting to use our free will to get what we think we want. So He has to encourage us to want Him in our lives.

And so, according to the Bible, how often is Jesus Christ encouraging us to seek Him?

Rev 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

It is perhaps my favorite verse - He is just standing there and always speaking to us to let to get us to open up to Him.

So think about it - Why do we ever seek His voice? Is it not because He was calling us and encouraging us to seek what He has to say?

From my 20 plus years with Him, I have concluded that I doubt I ever have asked Him a question except that He first encouraged me to ask Him. Still, I find it good to try and remember that I am supposed to seek Him. That would make it easier to pick up His encouragement, right?

Yeah - you are hearing Him, and that means you are one of His sheep who hear His voice. You are in fine shape, even if that snake is telling you different!
 
  • Love
Reactions: Gottservant

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
Yeah - that's Him alright.

[...]

Yeah - you are hearing Him, and that means you are one of His sheep who hear His voice. You are in fine shape, even if that snake is telling you different!
The annoying thing is: I think to myself "the Holy Spirit has shown me what to do, I will just do it. Done. Finished!"

Like I am loading my expectations, with what should be "a relationship"?

I don't remember starting to do that, its sort of always been that way. Maybe I should confess.

Is it possible to pick up on God's moods, do you reckon?
 

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
The annoying thing is: I think to myself "the Holy Spirit has shown me what to do, I will just do it. Done. Finished!"

Like I am loading my expectations, with what should be "a relationship"?

I don't remember starting to do that, its sort of always been that way. Maybe I should confess.

Is it possible to pick up on God's moods, do you reckon?
Humm...

Well - as far as picking up God's moods/feelings - yes that happens, at least as He wants you to feel them. But at times He does want us to feel what He feels - and that can seem strange.

I remember one day I was driving down the freeway with my mom and my brother's mother in law (both Christians) when suddenly the Holy Spirit came on me and causing me to weep and start praying in tongues. Sometime was really bothering me, but it wasn't my feelings. I was just casually driving us all on a small trip. Still, there I was weeping and praying in tongues. Then a mile down the road the traffic started to slow down, almost to a standstill.

As we creeped along the freeway we slowly came across and accident, where a car obviously had flipped over serval times, down into a ditch on the side of the road. It didn't look good.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord start talking to me. He was telling me that someone had died, and they didn't know Him. He explained that the praying in tongues was because there was another person in the care who needed help. The weeping was for the person who had died not knowing Him. He explained that He had put the feeling onto me so that I would know how much He cared for people, even those who died not knowing Him.

I can tell you other times too, but the Bible has this also if we think about it.

2 King 8:12 Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.”

Elisha was weeping, because the Lord had shown Him was to come, and in so doing so had also shown Elisha how He feels about it Himself. This can happen with joy also.

Act 13:52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

So if weeping and joy, then other feelings also, right!!

Yes indeed, it is weird to have a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ because it does get personal!
 

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
The Lord sort of prompted me to write back.

It's another day, and I am just drifting in space and time, I'm not thinking of God so much as what I can do for Him, if anything and it sort of feels like I am treading water, as to what God is saying to me.

Maybe God speaks more at some times than at others? Is that why I'm missing Him?

Wait, He just said me waiting for the end, is what He was waiting for!

I think the Devil is trying to make me feel guilty, that the end is too late!
 

Karl Peters

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2021
1,424
659
113
66
Fontana
Faith
Christian
Country
United States
The Lord sort of prompted me to write back.

It's another day, and I am just drifting in space and time, I'm not thinking of God so much as what I can do for Him, if anything and it sort of feels like I am treading water, as to what God is saying to me.

Maybe God speaks more at some times than at others? Is that why I'm missing Him?

Wait, He just said me waiting for the end, is what He was waiting for!

I think the Devil is trying to make me feel guilty, that the end is too late!

Sorry about not getting back to you sooner.

Every Christian seems to know that we just seem to pick Him up better sometimes than others. It often seems like He goes quiet, but it is not because He is not there, or unwilling to talk to us. There are a number of reasons for Him seeming to go quiet.

One of the main reasons for Him seeming to go quiet is the dark spiritual forces that we battle with. Jesus said John the Baptist was the greatest born of woman, but Jesus also said that he would have been the least in heaven, and ask what we went out to see? A reed blowing in the wind?

We all get blown around in the wind, so to speak. Which sounds like what you are writing about, considering that you think the Devil is trying to make you feel guilty. Still - our Lord Jesus Christ is still there to be inquired of. All you really have to do is ask - "Lord Jesus Christ, are you trying to make me feel guilty? But you were thinking about this as you wrote, so why you also wrote, "Wait, He just said to me."

That was indeed exactly what I am telling you. We start thinking about the Lord, then at some point we wind up seeking Him again, thinking that He might not still be there for us, then suddenly again, we find He is there to talk to us. So I loved the post, and the example of hearing the Lord, even when we think we are drifting and treading water - or getting blown around in the wind, so to speak.

Honestly, He is not as concerned about us helping Him as He is concerned about us letting Him help us. Even our service for Him is designed to help us - or do we really think He needs our help? It is kind of like a little child thinking their father needs there help. Doesn't the father really tell the little child that he needs their help in order to raise up a wise child who is willing to learn what is best to do?

So, you and I are never just drifting in space and time we are growing in the Lord, right? :)
 
  • Love
Reactions: Gottservant

Gottservant

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2022
1,815
519
113
45
Greensborough
Faith
Christian
Country
Australia
Sorry about not getting back to you sooner.

Every Christian seems to know that we just seem to pick Him up better sometimes than others. It often seems like He goes quiet, but it is not because He is not there, or unwilling to talk to us. There are a number of reasons for Him seeming to go quiet.

[...]

So, you and I are never just drifting in space and time we are growing in the Lord, right? :)
I am just in awe of God, right now.

Thanks so much for pointing the way.

We need to pray, that more hear His Voice (in Jesus' Name Amen)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Karl Peters