FILTER #1: Is the Prompting Truly from G.o.d?

The first filter is to simply ask G.o.d, "Is this message truly from your Years ago, when my kids were junior-high age, a man whom I did not know approached me and told me that within thirty days my children were going to be "struck down" because of my style of ministry, which welcomed nonbelievers into the "house of G.o.d." He looked sophisticated and was very articulate, and I remember his opening statement being, "Pastor Hybels, I have a prophetic word from G.o.d to deliver to you." He had my attention from the get-go, but as soon as I understood what he was saying, I knew we were going to have a very difficult conversation.

As he spoke, the first thing I had to a.s.sess was whether his warning aligned with what I knew of the character of G.o.d as revealed in Scripture. Thankfully, it did not. His underlying premise for stating that my kids were going to suffer was that I was violating Scripture by attempting to use our public church services to point non-believing people to faith in Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, G.o.d extends himself to humankind at every turn; I felt confident that my evangelistic efforts through Willow were not in violation of Scripture. Because this man's opening a.s.sertion was patently false, I didn't think I could trust his further comments.

What's more, even if his underlying a.s.sumption had been correct-even if I had somehow been violating the mandates of Scripture-I would have discounted his warning that my kids would be asked to pay for my mistakes with their lives. Although there are a few times in Scripture when G.o.d disciplines children for the sins of their fathers, usually G.o.d disciplines the wrongdoer himself.

I believed this man's "prompting from G.o.d" was probably of his own making, a belief that was affirmed when my children-thankfully-were still alive and well at the end of that thirty-day period.

Whenever you receive a prompting-whether from G.o.d directly, or through the lips of another-be sure to test it. Take whatever time is necessary to ask, "G.o.d, is this message from you? Does this square with who I know you to be? Is it consistent with your character? Is it aligned with your attributes? Is this you trying to convey something to me, or are there other voices getting into my head?" Before taking a single step to obey the whisper you've received, be sure you get the all-clear that the voice you have heard could be from G.o.d.

FILTER #2: Is It Scriptural?

Next, run the prompting through the Scripture filter.

Several times a year someone will tell me that the reason their life is in shambles is because G.o.d "told" them to do something absurd.

"G.o.d told me to cheat on my wife."

"G.o.d told me to drop out of school with one semester left."

"G.o.d told me to quit my job, even though I have four kids to support and no other source of income."

I can't tell you how many jobs have been lost, educations have been foregone, marriages have been destroyed, bank accounts have been blown, all because someone felt sanctioned by G.o.d to take a particular action.

Scripture is replete with examples of how G.o.d would behave in any given life situation, and the Example's name is Jesus Christ. Whenever I sense a prompting from G.o.d, I ask myself if I could imagine Jesus taking whatever action I am considering taking. If I can't envision Jesus following suit, I fear my wires somehow must have gotten crossed.

If you need a straightforward starting point in this regard, check out Galatians 5:16-26, which says: So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: s.e.xual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of G.o.d.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its pa.s.sions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Now, in case you glazed over these verses because of their familiarity, let me give a portion of the pa.s.sage to you again, this time in The Message transliteration.

Live freely, animated and motivated by G.o.d's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are ant.i.thetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day.

But what happens when we live G.o.d's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard-things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compa.s.sion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

You and I both could do worse than to commit these ideas to memory. When we are motivated by G.o.d, we walk in freedom. When we are motivated by selfish interests, we will be inclined to interpret as "messages" from G.o.d messages that we have, in fact, created to satisfy something or someone other than G.o.d.

Check every prompting you receive against the thematic teachings of Scripture. Messages that contradict Scripture are not from G.o.d.

FILTER #3: Is It Wise?

A third filter I use in determining the veracity of various whispers is the general-wisdom test.

Jesus was fond of telling his followers to be wise at all times. "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves," he says in Matthew 10:16. "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."2 The entire book of Proverbs is devoted to dissecting wisdom and all her attributes. For example, the wise one loves knowledge, while the fool hates it; the wise one practices gentle speech, while the fool uses harsh, incendiary words; the wise one lives blamelessly, while the fool is utterly corrupt; the wise one follows a straight path, while the fool rejoices in the perverseness of evil; the wise one inherits honor, while the fool is held up to shame. Scripture is relentless in exhorting us to be wise in all our dealings, to be wise in all our ways.

A young couple thinks of buying their first house. They love the one that is priced fifty-thousand dollars higher than their budget will allow. The real-estate agent lowers his voice and says, "If we don't make an offer right now, it's going to be gone forever."

"Well," the couple thinks, "maybe this is G.o.d telling us to act quickly..."

Or maybe not.

What would the path of wisdom tell them to do? Slow down. Walk out. Cool off. Stick to the budget that you wisely set.

Another couple tells their pastor in excited tones, "We're getting married!"

"Great!" the pastor replies. "How long have you known each other?"

"Three weeks," they say.

"Wow...," comes the pastor's less-than-enthusiastic response.

Again, slow down. Cool off. Give this thing a chance to bloom.

A businessman says, "I'm going to cash in my life savings and buy lottery tickets because G.o.d said I needed to make a huge contribution to the church."

Any guesses as to wisdom's response?

Be sure you're not sidestepping what is wise in favor of acting quickly on whispers. If G.o.d is indeed in the plan, it will likely not involve blatantly unwise action. G.o.d's direction rarely violates the wisdom test.

FILTER #4: Is It in Tune with Your Own Character?

Okay on to filter number four. One of my favorite filters for verifying divine direction is what I call the wiring test.

Three years ago, my son Todd, then 28, decided to sail a forty-two-foot sailboat around the world. One night, he came over to the house and formally laid out for Lynne and me what he intended to do, providing us with a two-year plan he had clearly thought through in great detail. Mere seconds into his presentation, I received a word from G.o.d. "Todd's entire life has been leading up to this adventure," the prompting went. "This trip is perfectly consistent with the man I created him to be."

As Todd kept talking, I thought, "This plan isn't outrageous at all." I considered all the parents I knew who would have been coming unglued if their kid was laying out such a scheme-they wouldn't be able to see past their (quite understandable) fears regarding storms, tsunamis, rogue waves, gear failure, shipping traffic, piracy threats and more-but all I could focus on was the fact that Todd had been oriented toward the water since he was a very young boy. He took small boats out alone when he was five years old. He sailed a thirty-five-foot sailboat across Lake Michigan when he was only fifteen, and he captained yet another boat from Michigan to the Bahamas a few years after that. Circ.u.mnavigating the globe in a sailboat was likely his next big challenge. This was probably something Todd-to be true to the person G.o.d created him to be-just had to do. The prompting he believed he had heard from G.o.d pa.s.sed the wiring test in spades, which was an important step in helping his parents embrace what would be a very long two years.

I've seen the other side of the coin turn up as well. One weekend following a service at Willow I spoke with a man who said he had been so moved by a particular music number during the service that he was contemplating quitting his job as a successful stockbroker and going full-bore into the Christian-music industry. "I really feel like that's what G.o.d wants me to do," he said. "I just can't shake the sense that this is my new calling in life..."

I waited until he finished his determined explanations of this new career and then threw a few softball questions his way. "Do you have any musical training?" I asked.

After some hemming and hawing, the answer, it turns out, was no.

"What about any experience in singing or songwriting? I mean, was there ever a time in your youth when you were drawn toward the arts?"

Again, no.

"Hmmm. Sing in the shower at all?"

A third time, no.

I looked at the stockbroker and said, "Not trying to burst any G.o.d-ordained bubbles here, but is it possible that you were simply moved by a powerful song, and that maybe G.o.d just wants you to reflect on that wonderful experience without upending your entire world in order to pursue a new vocation?"

I caution people against running headlong into a field that is totally foreign to their wiring patterns, their education, their expertise and their experience in life thus far. It's not that G.o.d can't endorse a dramatic 180-degree turn. It's just that typically when he does so, it gets affirmed in a variety of different ways.

FILTER #5: What Do the People You Most Trust Think about It?

There is a fifth filter I use, which is based on Proverbs 11:14. "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the mult.i.tude of counselors there is safety."3 I call this the G.o.dly counsel test. The idea here is that whenever you sense that G.o.d is speaking to you, find two or three veteran Christ-followers-preferably people who know you well and who are further down the spiritual path than you are-and take some time to describe the situation to them in detail. Humbly ask them, "Do you think G.o.d really did speak to me? Is this the voice of G.o.d I'm hearing, or in your estimation did I get my wires crossed?"

Listen openly and intently to the answers you receive, because they might just save your hide. I speak from experience here.

In the early 1990s, I was in the process of recuperating from a time of burnout and over-commitment. At my lowest point during that season of extreme exhaustion-when I was emotionally fried-a business friend of mine from out of state made an offer for me to join his company. It was an exciting and lucrative offer, and I truly thought that G.o.d might be calling me to leave church work and re-enter the marketplace.

I was quite confident that I had heard G.o.d's voice, which meant that the opportunity successfully pa.s.sed filter number one. It also pa.s.sed filter number two, since nothing in Scripture would prohibit me from going back to my original career in the marketplace. Regarding the wisdom test, financially, the move would have been extremely wise for my family and me. And obviously it aligned with at least part of my wiring, since I had studied business and loved the thrill of closing the big deal.

But there was still the nagging "G.o.dly counsel test," which I'd conveniently ignored.

Somewhat begrudgingly, I called together a few spiritual mentors and other people whose opinions and perspectives I genuinely trust, and who understood my current state of exhaustion. I described the offer I was considering, then sat back and listened to their response. To a person, they said, "Bill, you are in no condition right now to make such a sweeping decision about your future. Even if you believe that G.o.d is steering you in this direction, we implore you to wait three months and then reevaluate at that time."

They begged me to rest up, heal up and get my wits about me before taking even one more step. I will forever be grateful that I heeded their wise advice.

Within a couple of months I did get healthier, and I began to see things more clearly. As I fell in love with my ministry role once more, I realized how much I would have missed if I had gotten that one decision wrong.

Subject every prompting to the G.o.dly counsel test. It will save you from boatloads of heartache and just might affirm G.o.d's best will for your life.

Having those five filters at the ready helps tremendously when you're trying to make sense of a whisper from G.o.d. (See the appendix on page 267 for a consolidated list of them all.) But what about when you feel like heaven has fallen strangely silent and months go by without a single word from above? What do you do when it seems G.o.d has stopped speaking, despite your deep desire to hear from him?

One day a few summers ago, I decided to spend an afternoon alone with G.o.d. I hopped on a boat, headed out on the lake and prepared to hear meaningful words from heaven. I sat there for an hour and heard nothing. I sat there for a second hour and heard precisely nothing. Partway through hour number three, I thought, "I love being on the water, but what's with the silence, G.o.d?"

I was going through a tough time at Willow and desperately needed a little encouragement from above. But hour after hour I sat there, hearing nothing but the wind and the waves.

Just as I was ready to haul up the anchor and motor back toward the harbor, I saw a Bud Light beer can float by. I stood there staring at the can, wondering, Is this a message from G.o.d? If so, what could it mean? Am I supposed to drink Bud Light? Am I supposed to tell my congregation not to drink Bud Light? Is there a message inside the can?

After a few wasted minutes of silent inquisition, I figured G.o.d was probably just telling me to respect his creation, fish the can out of the water and toss it in the garbage.

I got back to the house, and my family, all of whom knew I was investing an entire afternoon in some "meaningful dialogue" with G.o.d, said, "So, what did G.o.d say to you?"

"Pick up the beer can-that's what he said."

We laughed, but there was little more to report. I had watched and waited and listened, but apparently G.o.d had nothing to say to me that day-or at least I couldn't hear it, despite my best efforts.

Can I offer you a few words of encouragement, based on countless firsthand experiences like that one? If you aren't sensing many promptings from G.o.d throughout the course of your day, your week, your month, check one of the following areas of concern. For me, one of these four culprits is usually to blame.

First, fervently and frequently ask G.o.d to improve your hearing. Pray every day for G.o.d to give you ears like the prophet Samuel's. Ask him for increased capacity to discern his voice and for heightened attentiveness to his promptings.

Second, reduce the ambient noise in your life. For me, a sure way to get quiet before G.o.d is to head off solo on a boat. For you, it might be listening for him while you are driving, exercising or enjoying the quiet of your bedroom at night. Wherever it is, be sure to carve out moments in your day when you can practice listening for the voice of G.o.d.

Third, you simply must fill your head with Scripture. As we will cover in the next chapter, most of the promptings we receive at critical decision points in life come as the Holy Spirit reminds us of Scriptures we already know. We hear whispers that reinforce biblical truths and we understand immediately what the Spirit is trying to say to us. So, saturate yourself with G.o.d's Word and see if his whispers don't increase over time.

Finally, the Bible makes it clear that any ongoing pattern of wrongdoing compromises our communication with G.o.d-in both directions. Our prayers don't get through to G.o.d and G.o.d's promptings don't get through to us. If you are stuck in a rut of sinfulness and deceit, confess your sin and turn away from it today. Let the laser light of truth permeate every corner of your life. Don't truncate your communications with the Father because you're unwilling to let go of a sin pattern in your life.

ONE OF THE MOST GUT-WRENCHING BOOKS I HAVE READ IN the past few years was the published series of personal letters to and from Mother Teresa that make up the book, Come Be My Light. So many things about this book touched me deeply but one section in particular wrecked me. Her letters describe a season that lasted for some years, during which this extraordinary, G.o.dly woman could not hear the voice of G.o.d. Throughout this painful season, Mother Teresa begged G.o.d to cast light on her very dark night. But for reasons she did not understand, G.o.d seemed to be strangely silent.

Her chosen course of action during this disappointing season was incredibly instructive to me. Instead of growing resentful or hard-hearted, Mother Teresa chose to continue obeying the last whisper she had received from G.o.d. Eventually G.o.d began whispering to her again, but throughout that long season of silence, Mother Teresa continued obeying his most recent marching orders. It's worthy advice. If you're not hearing much from G.o.d these days, go back to the last whisper you received and follow it to the letter. Perhaps by faithfully executing his last command, a new nudging will have s.p.a.ce to emerge.

Allow me one final point. While it's true that G.o.d sometimes seems silent and his whispers seem few and far between, there are plenty of times when he does choose to speak-as evidenced by the themes of this book. Whenever you find yourself on the receiving end of G.o.d's promptings, be sure to obey-no matter the cost. Don't let fear or doubt rob you of one bit of what G.o.d has in store for you. Whenever you hear from G.o.d, do precisely what he asks for you to do.

I've staked my entire adult life on following the still, small voice of G.o.d, and though my faithfulness has been flawed more times than I care to count, I have not for one second regretted this approach. I walked away from a three-generation family business and moved away from my hometown, my family, and my childhood friends because of a whisper. Willow Creek and the Willow Creek a.s.sociation exist because of a whisper. I'm still in ministry today because at low points in my life G.o.d graciously whispered to me. Because I take whispers incredibly seriously, life is rarely dull. I live most days with a sense of antic.i.p.ation, knowing that I could be one spiritual nudge away from once again having my world radically altered and redirected. Who would want to miss out on a ride like that?

Back to Acts 13 one last time. After Paul and Barnabas were "sent off" by the leaders at Antioch, the two men launched out on a trip around that region of the world to spread the message of Christ. In some villages townspeople warmly embraced the Good News and their lives were miraculously transformed. But in others areas, people weren't as thrilled to see Paul and Barnabas and terrible riots burst out.

In fact, after Paul delivered his message of grace in one city, the crowd was so incensed they hurled stones his way, leaving him close to death's door. By G.o.d's grace, he didn't die. He eventually recuperated, remembered his calling and resumed his G.o.d-whispered a.s.signment, preaching from town to town.

My point is this: Don't ever buy into the idea that everything G.o.d prompts his followers to do will be uncomplicated or low-cost. Sometimes G.o.d asks his children to carry heavy loads, as he did with the apostle Paul. But even-and often especially-under those backbreaking burdens, G.o.d's purposes are fulfilled. When our whispered task is tough, the reward of knowing we've helped further his kingdom and bettered our broken world is all the sweeter.

If you ever find yourself with a difficult a.s.signment, why not try giving G.o.d thanks for trusting you with something that needs your particular strength. He a.s.signs tasks to the right person every time. He did it throughout history and he still does it today. As you walk whatever potholed path he has asked you to walk, never forget the tough journey that Jesus himself once made. As we'll explore in a later chapter, Christ was asked to bear the most difficult a.s.signment of all-to lay down his life as a redemptive sacrifice for humankind. He chose to obey. And because of his obedience, you and I enjoy our redemption today.