Imagine this scenario: you are stressed. Your life is teetering between being okay and absolute financial ruin (or so you think). You need help, big time, and you don't know if it will ever come. You close your eyes and you start to pray, "Father God, I don't know what to do. If You don't come through, this will be the end of me! I don't have another plan, I just have You and we are told that that's supposed to be enough. I need You to take care of this, just show me that You will." Then you fall asleep. The next day, you are going about your normal routine and you get a phone call. The person on the other end of the phone doesn't know your struggles, but they offer you exactly what you need to know that you will be okay. Your heart sort of flutters because you have a secret. You know that the words uttered through that phone were not just from the person on the other end; it's a conversation between the divine and the earthly, and it's between you and God.
So, maybe it's not a financial situation you've experienced; but I can assure you that if you think about it hard enough, you can think of at least one time where God has whispered in your ear. God loves to speak to just us and he loves to communicate in ways that would only make sense at the right moment ,at the right time, and to just the person He is speaking to. He can do this with little things: I remember when I first committed to a life of ministry, I was giving up everything else I had ever worked for and that was scary! I was coming back from the shops and praying, visibly shaking, asking God to show me that this was what He wanted me to do because I was "gambling with my life." At that moment as I pulled out my keys from my purse to unlock my door, a fortune from a fortune cookie (which had to have been at the bottom of my purse for years) fell out onto the welcome mat. I picked it up and right there were the words, "You'll take a gamble and win." Now, I don't believe in fortunes, but I do believe in the mystery of God. He can also use big events like natural disasters, global celebrations, and yes, even pandemics to send each of us messages intended only for us.
These are some of my favorite times with God. I love that He understands us enough to know our needs and how to speak to us and then He actually speaks! What a gift! Now, I don't want to tell anyone to over-spiritualize everything in their days. Some things are just what they are; but, sometimes God really speaks life into something and when He does, you will know it. "How?" you might ask. Well, let's talk about it!
What God says always bears fruit
Not everything God says to us will be something we have been asking about (and sometimes God will be silent in His answers to some things we are asking Him about); but, what we can know for sure is that all that God says will bear fruit. What do I mean by that? Well, all that God says will be true in some way. I remember one day, I had just walked back to my car and as I opened the door, I heard very distinctly in my mind, "You need to text Nicole and tell her how much you care about her." The voice sounded like my own inner thoughts, but the thought was very different. It felt like it knew something I did not, it felt smarter than me in some way, and it felt serious. I felt odd about what it told me to do, though. "Should I really text my friend out of the blue and tell her how important she is to me? Isn't that weird?"Still, this thought felt different. So, I trusted it and did what I had heard... and guess what? My friend's uncle had just committed suicide that day and she was very upset. My words had helped her feel like someone cared in a moment when she felt like no one did. I could have never known that this was what she needed in that moment and, at any other time I'm sure my words would be appreciated, but they might not have bore fruit like they did in that moment. They fulfilled a purpose and that is what God's words, truth, and secrets always do.
What God speaks always brings calm
God is not a God of chaos. He will never create chaos with His words. We might feel intimidated by what He says or might not know where it will lead, but we can assure that His words, the same words that bear fruit, will always bear GOOD fruit and that should bring us a feeling of calm. God is good and all He creates is good and honestly, this good radiates from all He does. So, if you feel chaos with what is said, you can almost always know that it is not from God.
Sometimes God will speak to many of us with one situation
Let's say God has spoken to you through situational means. A great example is the Covid-19 pandemic. I have heard God speak of my ministry, where I'm going and what I am supposed to do through the situation we are all experiencing. That doesn't mean this situation was necessarily intended for only me. Don't misunderstand me, I don't think God needs a global pandemic to get His point across to one person; but, I think He can use it to accomplish many things with many people. I'm sure he has spoken to you, sprinkled in a new understanding of life, your situation, your routine, you sleep patterns even. He has whispered to all of us and the great thing about God's secrets is they could make sense to only you and be just as true as what someone else hears. So, don;t be surprised when He's whispered something different to the person across the street. Hold on to your own secret!
God's secrets are always about His love for us
Sometimes God will whisper something to you that will make you jump for joy. Other times, it might make you shake in your boots. In either situation, the intention behind it is always God's love for us. God loves you. He speaks to you, not because He has to, but because He wants to. If we listen, we will hear His love for us time and time again.
So God speaks. He speaks in the emptiness of the road that gets us to work a few minutes early and give us the opportunity to speak to that person we never had before. He speaks to us in the reassurances that no one else understands. He speaks to us in the warnings that might help us to change our ways. He tells us secrets of our lives and secrets of the universe. He gives us insights we never should have known. He does this because He loves us enough to let us in, to connect the divine with the earthly. If only we would listen in.
