What to Do When God Speaks

We all want to hear from God.

We pray. We ask questions. We seek direction. We wonder if a thought, desire, opportunity, or prompting is something God is speaking to us.

But hearing God is only part of the journey.

What do we do when God speaks?

Scripture gives us a picture of people who listened, obeyed, waited, questioned, trusted, and sometimes struggled with what God was asking of them.

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Notice the progression: listen, know, follow.

God speaks. We listen. And then we have a choice about what we do with what we hear.

Identify the Voice You’re Hearing

Before we can respond to God’s voice, we need to learn to recognize it.

Not every thought we have is from God. Not every feeling is His leading. Not every opportunity is His assignment. And not every internal voice deserves our agreement.

God’s voice will always reflect God’s Word.

He will never speak something that contradicts Scripture or His character. His voice will align with who He is and produce fruit consistent with His Spirit.

God’s voice will never contradict His commandments.

God’s voice brings peace, not anxiety. This does not mean that following God will always feel comfortable. Sometimes God will challenge us, stretch us, and call us far beyond our comfort zones. But discomfort and anxiety are not the same thing.

God’s voice will convict, but it will not condemn.

There is a difference between the Holy Spirit saying, “This needs to change,” and the enemy saying, “You are hopeless.”  One leads us toward repentance and freedom. The other leads us toward shame and hiding.

Learning to recognize God’s voice requires knowing His Word and spending time with Him. The more familiar we become with the Shepherd, the more familiar His voice becomes.

And this is worth asking ourselves:

What voices have I been listening to that are not God’s voice?

What would change if we stopped agreeing with every thought that did not line up with what God says about us?

How would our behavior change?

How would our perspective change?

How would our responses change?

How might our identity change if we stopped allowing voices of fear, insecurity, shame, comparison, or rejection to tell us who we are?

Sometimes hearing God means learning to recognize what is not God.

Following His Voice Requires Obedience

John 10:27 doesn’t simply say that His sheep hear His voice.

It says they follow Him.

Following Jesus is a journey of continuous steps.

Whether you are a brand-new believer or have walked with Jesus for decades, there will always be another step of faith, another invitation to trust, another area where God is asking you to surrender.

God will continue to speak.

And each next step gives us an opportunity to choose obedience.

We can obey.

Or we can remain stagnant.

Or we can be rebellious and run in the opposite direction.

The following is taken from the book Follow the Cloud by John Stickl:

“Disobedience is simply misplaced trust.  It’s trusting in someone or something more than we trust in God.

John 15:14 states, “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Jesus’s obedience determines our identity, but your obedience determines your intimacy.  Your willingness to obey doesn’t affect your salvation, but it does influence the quality of your relationship.  In other words, your salvation is free, but obedience is the cost of deep friendship.  To obey, you might have to give up something, or whatever else you hold more dear.  But as you become his friend, you start to realize it wasn’t really a cost, because with him you always receive more than you give.”

Ask yourself:

Is there something God has already asked me to do that I have been putting off?

What has my hesitation cost me?

What might obedience open up?

And perhaps most importantly: What would it look like to take the next step?

You don’t have to know every step after that.

You just have to be willing to take the one He has put in front of you.

When God Speaks, But You Have to Wait

Sometimes God speaks a direction.

And sometimes He speaks a promise.

The difficult part is that God’s promises rarely come with a timeline.

We may receive a word from God, but then look at our circumstances or the timeline and wonder, How can this possibly happen? 

What do we do when what we see doesn’t match what we believe God has spoken?

We wait.

And waiting can test our faith.

1 John 5:14–15 reminds us that we can approach God with confidence when we ask according to His will. That phrase matters: according to His will.

Our confidence isn’t based on convincing God to give us what we want. It comes from knowing Him, knowing His Word, and aligning our hearts with His will.

So what do we do while we wait?

Remember.

When circumstances contradict what we believe God has spoken, we have a choice about what we focus on.

We can stare at the circumstances.

Or we can read God’s Word. Scripture is filled with stories of people who waited.

Again and again, Scripture reminds us that God’s timing is not always our timing.

Who is your favorite character in the Bible who faced waiting?  Study that character and see what God speaks and encourages you from their story.

Remind yourself of His faithfulness. Reminisce on what He has already done in your life.

Praise Him for who He is, not just for what you are waiting for Him to do. And keep talking to Him. Waiting doesn’t mean becoming silent. Continue to pray. Continue to listen. Continue to seek Him for wisdom about when, how, and what to do next.

Sometimes God gives additional revelation and strategy while we are waiting for the fulfillment of what He has already spoken.

Don’t Wait Alone

One of the most important things we can do while waiting is share the journey with people who will help strengthen our faith.

There will be moments when your faith feels strong. There will also be moments when you wonder if you heard God correctly. That’s when community matters.

So if you’re waiting right now, don’t isolate yourself.

Invite trusted, godly women into the process.

Let them pray with you. Let them remind you of God’s faithfulness. Let them believe with you when believing feels difficult.

What Will You Do When God Speaks?

Jesus said His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.

There will be times when God speaks and the next step is obedience.

There will be times when He speaks a promise and the next step is waiting and trusting.

Whatever season you’re in, you can keep coming back to the same question:

What is God asking me to do with what He has spoken?

Rarely will you know the whole path, the whole plan, or the outcome.

You simply need to listen for the Shepherd’s voice and be willing to follow.  One step at a time.  That’s what faith is.  Following without knowing.

God is speaking to you.

The question isn’t only, “God, what are You saying?”

Most importantly, it’s also, “God, what will I do with what You say?”