God, Is That You Calling?

By Ellen Debenport

Imagine your spouse walks into the kitchen one day and says: “Honey, I'm going to the lumber store. God told me to build an ark.”
 

Imagine the day Zipporah was cooking over the campfire, and her husband Moses ambled in from the wilderness. “Listen, I was out with the sheep today when I saw this burning bush,” he begins. “So pack up the kids. We're heading to Egypt so I can lead the Hebrews out of slavery.”
 

Sure, Moses! Get washed up for supper.
 

With thousands of years of hindsight, it's easy to believe that God really spoke to the famous characters of the Bible, instructing them step-by-step through the course of ancient history. We don't question that they heard the voice of God.
 

But someone making that claim today may be laughed at or locked up. In countless news stories, people have sworn that God told them to perform some ridiculous stunt or even commit a heinous crime.
 

So we may feel a little uncomfortable telling our friends we are guided by the voice of God, even in these days when stories of angels and near-death visions reach the mass market. We are likely to doubt our own experience of God.
 

How Do We Know When It's Really God?

Mahatma Gandhi said, “God speaks to us every day only we don't know how to listen.”

The Bible makes it sound so easy! Moses had his burning bush. Adam and Eve met God strolling through the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening. Isaiah had visions, and Samuel heard God calling his name in the middle of the night. Paul was struck blind and heard a voice from the heavens. …
 

Charles Fillmore, Unity's cofounder, said God communicates half a dozen ways: through instinct, through intuition, through inspiration and imagination, through dreams and visions, through revelation (the “aha” experience), and through that still small voice.

But such experiences may still leave us wondering, Was that God?
 

Sometimes the only option is to trust the voice, follow the guidance, and see what happens. However, here are some ways to test whether our impulses are really divine:
 

God never asks us to harm anyone. The results are win-win for everyone, working for the highest good of all, even if that isn't immediately evident. Relationships, jobs and lifestyles may change radically as we follow God's guidance, but we trust that God wants only good for us and our loved ones.
 

Everything falls into place. Doors open miraculously. There is no struggle: the universe rushes to support us. This doesn't mean we'll see the big picture. Often the lantern of faith shines only a few feet ahead on the path. But with each trusting step, we can see a little farther.
 

This may not be our idea at all! Sometimes guidance feels like an assignment, not an option, and many people argue with God. Remember Moses? Who shall I say sent me? What if they don't believe me? I've never been an eloquent speaker!
 

Conversely, we may find ourselves suddenly wanting to do something we'd never dreamed of. We are more surprised than anyone by where we end up and how much we enjoy it. Paula, who had persecuted Christians, later spread the message of Jesus with the zeal of a convert.
 

We finally stop asking whether we truly heard God's voice. The question no longer has meaning for us, because we simply know, even if those around us think we're nuts. …
 

In the end, the only choice is to trust. God's voice may speak to us in a garden, thunder at us on a mountaintop, call our names in the night, or whisper from within. But God won't go away. And hearing the voice is useless unless we heed it, trust it and step out in faith.
 

As a political editor, Ellen Debenport traveled throughout the country to report on presidential campaigns and to write about social issues. Ordained by the Association of Unity Churches International in 1999, she served as CEO and senior minister of Unity Church of Dallas and now sits on the board at Unity School of Christianity. For more information on her speaking schedule and keynote addresses, visit www.ellendebenport.com.

This excerpted article originally appeared in Unity Magazine.