Fairly Spiritual: Permission to follow the voice of God

I firmly believe God is always speaking to us. The Bible says that in the last days, in these days, God will pour out his spirit on all flesh. Sons and daughters, male and female, young and old will prophesy. We will all know, in a profoundly meaningful way, the will and direction of God. We won't know everything, but we will know enough to hear and do God's will.

I firmly believe God is always speaking to us. The Bible says that in the last days, in these days, God will pour out his spirit on all flesh. Sons and daughters, male and female, young and old will prophesy. We will all know, in a profoundly meaningful way, the will and direction of God. We won’t know everything, but we will know enough to hear and do God’s will.

God is always speaking to you and to me. It is an assumption that motivates the ministry of my life. Sometimes spiritual leaders project Christianity in a way that makes God’s voice appear distant or unattainable. Instead of expanding where and how people hear God, we limit God’s voice to “our church,” “our sermon,” “our book,” “our pastor,” “our denomination,” or even “our political party.”

Although God certainly uses individuals to teach, preach and lead, He does not limit his voice to those leaders, preachers, and teachers. At best, a Christian leader can only confirm what God is already saying to each and every individual.

When I was a young minister, I used to try and change everyone’s mind with my persuasive preaching and communication. My desire was to convince everyone in the room to turn from the wrong direction to the right direction. Unfortunately, in my passion, I sometimes forgot God had already been speaking to everyone in the room before I even entered the room.

Although it was certainly not wrong for me to preach repentance, it was wrong for me to move forward as if the message of repentance began with me.

The more I minister, the more I am convinced I must make room for the God who is continually speaking. In other words, I must enter every room and conversation with the conviction that God has already been speaking to all of us. It is not my job to start the conversation, it is my job to make room for the conversation God is already having with every single one of his children.

In many ways, my job is to simply give people a nudge to pursue what they already know to be true. For instance, I know that before you started reading today’s column, God was already speaking to you. I know that as you’ve been reading, you’ve felt a strong desire to listen carefully to what God is saying.

With this in mind, I want to encourage you to pursue what God has already put on your heart. If God has been calling you to repentance, then please do what he has been calling you to do … repent. If God has been calling you to go to church, then please do what he has been calling you to do … go to church. If God has been telling you to focus on better things, to pursue better plans and to drink from better streams, then please pursue the path God has already shown you.

I am confident God is speaking to you. I am confident God desires to spiritually prosper your life. I know he desires to lead you into good paths, good fields, good soil.

I believe God loves you so much that he will not leave you alone to fend for yourself. No, I am certain you have not been abandoned by God. In fact, I believe God is speaking to you at this very moment. He has given your heart an inclination to pursue him. Please put down the paper, take a deep breath, hear the voice of God and pursue his plan. The plans of God will not disappoint.

My voice, columns, sermons and radio shows are less certain.

“Live from Seattle with Doug Bursch” can be heard 4-6 p.m. weekdays on KGNW 820 AM. Doug Bursch also pastors Evergreen Foursquare Church. Evergreen meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at 2407 M St. SE next to Pioneer Elementary School. He can be reached at www.fairlyspiritual.org or doug@fairlyspiritual.org.