Top 10 Red Flags It's Not God
Did you know...
We are DESIGNED to hear from God.
Yes YOU.
Yes regular, normal YOU.
I'm not talking about the "super spiritual" people.
Y-O-U!
Jesus said...
“My sheep HEAR my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
The bible talks has a lot of verses about HEARING God's voice... like it's a basic DUH thing every believer should do.
“So faith comes from HEARING, and HEARING through the word of Christ.”
“Whoever is of God HEARS the words of God. The reason why you do not HEAR them is that you are not of God.”
If you can embrace this truth, this is the beginning of an LIFE-CHANGING journey.
Cuz if you accept that, then you MUST desire to HEAR God's voice.
God's got ALOT to say about everything in your life, if you just ask.
Who'd a thunk it, right?
There's not detail to small,
No trouble too jacked up that He can't fix.
You just have to ask and LISTEN for His guidance.
Since I started my journey in learning this (I'm still learning...),
I got sucker punched a lot by my own foolishness in thinking I heard God when it wasn't Him.
Yikes.
So...
How do you know when it's NOT God's voice you are hearing?
How can you tell the difference?
What are the pitfalls and how to avoid it?
The following list comes from my MISTAKES,
My BUMPS,
My BRUISES...
This is my BLOOPER reel of NOT hearing God but thinking I did.
(NOTE: This is just based on my experience so take it for whatever it's worth. This is not the end all be all. Everyone's experience is different. God is different with everyone. Either way I hope this helps.)
Top 10 Red Flags It's NOT God
1. I feel rushed or like I’m going to miss an opportunity. (Fear, Scarcity)
Feeling rushed or thinking I'm going to miss a window of opportunity is a FEAR-based emotion. I can also think "there's not enough time to ask God" or "I will miss out if I don't act quick". All these are FEAR-based thinking and emotions. Fear of missing out. Fear of not enough opportunity or time. Remember that God is not scarce. He is abundance. Any door He decides to open no man can shut.
"What [God] opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open."
Remember that God wants your heart more than your hustle.
He wants your heart to surrender to Him.
This means you will take extra time to VERIFY that this opportunity is from God. Remember that Satan can open up some sweet looking opportunity that are NOT from God.
So never rush into things because you don't have enough time cuz that's a RED FLAG that it may not be from God.
2. I REALLY want it A LOT (Keep obsessing over it)
"God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."
Keyword SELF-CONTROL.
Obsessing over something is NOT self-control
It's your mind going OUT of control.
This means that your flesh or the enemy is intruding on your thoughts.
God would not have you obsessing over something that results in scarcity, anxiety, fear, or lack of self-control.
"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control"
If you're obsessing, you are not bearing God's fruit. It's a RED FLAG.
3. Keep making Justifications (excuses).
Justifying a decision is another form of obsessing, but in different clothing.
This one is a little sneaker because you're thinking of it in a positive light and building your case for why you SHOULD do something or not.
Justification can sound like...
"This is such an open door it must be from God."
"I can use the profit from this to build an orphanage. It must be God."
"This will help so many people it must be God."
"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light"
This is JUSTIFICATION to move when you haven't gotten a green light from God.
Remember that God would rather have your HEART more than anything else you can give Him including your hustle.
Giving God your HEART means WAITING on God, SEEKING God, LISTENING for His response and NOT doing anything until then.
NOT doing something is A LOT harder than doing 10 things at once.
WAITING is the real test, not DOING.
If you find yourself justifying your action, just ask yourself "Is this my will? Am I more interested in doing something than waiting for God?"
This could be another RED FLAG.
4. Thought of waiting it is NOT ok.
This is a reverse test.
Imagine yourself NOT doing what you want to do.
Imagine yourself having to wait a lot longer than you thought.
Imagine yourself having to sit and NOT do ANYTHING.
How does that make you feel, honestly?
If it makes you squirm and resisting the idea, then you're bias.
You're not "neutral".
You may want it more than God's will and the voice of your flesh may be louder than God's voice.
True surrender would be "God, take as long as you want. Another year? Ok. I want YOUR timing and YOUR will."
If you have ants in your pants, it's just another RED FLAG to be aware of.
5. Unclear or inconsistent answer. (Noisy or conflicting answers)
You need to SEEK God for multiple days, weeks or months depending on the situation.
Remember that Daniel fasted for 21 days to get an answer and He's a spiritual giant.
So I'm sure that means we have things we need to wait for more than we care to admit.
So as you sit with an decision for a week and you're asking God the same question daily and writing it down... if you get answers that keep changing and it's inconsistent, then it's a RED FLAG that you're not hearing clearly.
There's a spiritual battle going on between you, Satan and God.
Satan is trying to block God's answer and stir up your desires to do what YOU want not what God wants.
At the same time God is speaking to you and some of it's getting through and some of it's getting distorted.
Just like Daniel, an angel was sent as soon as he prayed the first time but the angel was caught in a spiritual battle on his way to Daniel and it took some time to get through.
As you keep seeking earnestly, God will send reinforcement to get His answer through to you clearly.
The best solution to this is to keep seeking, DON'T rush, slow down and take your time.
Take it S.L.O (Seek. Listen. Obey.)
This wraps up PART 1 of my blooper real, and I will go through the rest in PART 2.
Hope this helps!
Cheers to seeking God's voice in ALL that we do.
There's nothing too big or small.
Submit the small, medium and large things to God... everything!
"In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God"
Have an amazing day!
