A Relief

Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.  2 Timothy 1:13-14 NET

So, how do we know it’s actually Holy Spirit’s voice? It’s not as hard as you think. Remember that God wants to speak to us, and He built us to hear His voice. When we hear or feel something we think might be God, we can run it through a few simple tests to be sure.

First, test what we hear, see, read or feel against the Bible. Is that voice in your head asking you do something that doesn’t match up with God’s character as described in the Bible? If so, then it’s not Holy Spirit. 

God never lies. And God will never direct us to sin or to make wrong choices. He loves humanity deeply, even the people that we don’t like.  At times, He’ll ask us to do things that we’re sort of uncomfortable with, like giving someone a second chance after they hurt you or going out of your way to encourage someone you’d rather ignore.

And again, read the Bible. First page to last page. Pick a chapter, pick a verse. But get yourself into His word. It is alive, it is teaching, it is a conversation with God. The Bible heals us, rebukes us, reminds us of our identity in Christ. It is why reading the Bible is so important. Holy Spirit can use what we read in the Bible to teach us about God’s character so that when we hear His voice it sounds familiar.

Next, you can test what is heard, seen or felt against your own selfishness. As humans, we’re naturally selfish. So, when that voice in your head says to do the unselfish thing, or to think about someone else first—that’s Holy Spirit. You know how it feels when someone encourages you to do the right thing, and you really don’t want to do it? On the inside, you resist it. That little rebellious voice—that’s not God. But, the voice that’s asking you to do what’s right instead of what’s easy—that is Holy Spirit.

Another test, does what is we hear, see or feel seem like something Satan would do? I know this one’s probably obvious, but if you haven’t read much of the Bible, it can be easy to confuse the enemy’s voice for something good. Satan always makes things sound good, but one of Holy Spirit’s jobs is to give us discernment. Don’t let the light of Holy Spirit go out!

Holy Spirit will help us recognize when something is coming from Satan instead of God. So, if the voice in your head is asking you to do something that sounds a little off, but you can’t quite pinpoint the reason—that’s Holy Spirit helping us recognize the wrong voice. 

And sadly too, people can throw God’s name around like a badge to do and say some ridiculous and sometimes hurtful things. Don’t do that. When we feel like God is telling us to do something that could hurt someone else, it’s not God.

Galatians 5:22-26 NET 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. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

There’s actually another great test we find in the book of Galatians. It talks about the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Holy Spirit’s promptings will line up with those outcomes. Sometimes, Holy Spirit asks us to be a little more loving. Or patient. Or kind. But He’ll never ask us to be the opposite. He’ll never ask us to be impatient, hold a grudge or be hateful. 

And the great news is that if we aim to please God, He will honor the intent of our heart and make His voice obvious. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” When He speaks, we will recognize Him.