My book Meandering is about hearing the voice of God. Dr. Mark Chironna has been instrumental in our faith journey so his following words felt brutal to me. Of course they are true:
“Far too much is ascribed to “the Spirit told me” when subjective inner impressions are loaded with unmet needs that drive those who make such claims. Failure to discern psychological denial , self-deception, and disassociation make room for tons of false ‘leadings'”.
1 Kings 19:11-13 fascinates me.
11Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”…
So many people try to make a case that only the “still small voice” is God’s tone and method of communication. I’ve learned God has an outdoor voice and He is not afraid to use it. This passage is an encounter between God and Elijah. I question whether it is to be generalized to all.
“Oh, that’s not God!”
To settle on the limited vocabulary and communication gifts puts us in a terrible bind. Usually when I need to hear from God, there are many loud voices screaming at me. A “whisper” can get decibled into oblivion. God has used His outdoor voice to capture my attention so He could whisper something personal into my spirit.
There has to be one more step, a skill to determine if what I’m hearing through the filter of self-deception, disassociation, and psychological or I will dismiss every inner impression with a blast—”Oh that’s not God!”
Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice….” God wants, desires and longs to talk to His people. That understanding and listening skill is more important than still small whisperings. After being confronted with the self-deception traits, unless I have tools to determine how to discern those traits I will ignore the voice of God: Oh, that’s not God. It is just my deluded and bent self.
“Lord, could you speak up. I missed your words.”
“The Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I’m about to do?'” (Genesis 18)
A couple of months ago, a tow truck deposited a GMC 4106 bus across the street from our house. It was so close to the vision I had about the bus God was going to provide our ministry. The bus showing up on our street was like a tornado alert. It is still there. There is no For Sale sign on it. It is just there. For weeks it tormented me. It led me through that long ago process when I tried to figure out who I was really hearing. It sits there and I wonder what inner impressions were loaded with unmet needs, what undiscerned psychological denial, self-deception, and disassociation made room for my mishearing.
When God’s voice becomes discounted, we tend to seek shelter under our own juniper tree; When we no longer believe that we are one of God’s Facebook friends; when we assume that God no longer has anything to say to us, the soul begins to shrivel—the blossoms fall off the previously luxurious plant.
It is a curious question God asks Elijah. Twice, He asks, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” That’s what the small still voice said. Who do we ask for counsel and insight when confronted by that question?
Listening
©2018 D. Dean Benton
Sample Meandering at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/889323
Benton Quest House 