Did God Really Tell You That?

I've been in enough Bible studies to recognize the moment. A sincere believer raises a hand. "The Lord told me not to go to the grocery store yesterday." Over the years, I've heard some version of that claim at least a dozen times. Twice, maybe, someone pushes back. We can't be afraid to challenge it. Often, nobody has ever asked the speaker whether they actually heard from God or just felt strongly.

Small thing, you'd think. Not really. I once watched a friend quit a job because she was sure God was calling her somewhere else. Six months later, the feeling had faded, and she regretted it.

What about the fellow who had a strong urge to call his brother? He picked up the phone and called. Turns out he was in crisis. Does that mean God spoke to him? No. He followed a hunch, and the hunch happened to help. Strong thoughts aren't divine speech. I'm not saying God can't lead His people. I'm saying Christians ought to be slow before they dress up a fallible idea as a word from heaven.

Claims of divine speech never get treated lightly in Scripture. Deuteronomy 18:22 is blunt: if a prophet speaks in the Lord's name and the thing doesn't come true, "the Lord has not spoken it; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him." Jeremiah spent years wrestling with false prophets who swore God had sent them. Ezekiel mocked the ones who "saw nothing." This wasn't abstract. Real people were being misled.

Old Testament stakes were life and death. False prophets got stoned. Just that should slow us down before we claim a direct line to heaven. Today's harm is quieter, but no less real, and it affects other people.

We've all heard some version of this: a man turns down a job because a friend says, "The Lord told me" it isn't the right one. Wrong. The chance is gone, and the man who listened regrets it.

Bring it into your own life. Maybe you're sure you should take a different road to work because something bad might happen, so you take it, and nothing happens. Later you find out that the coworker you were uneasy about is perfectly kind. You were convinced that a job, a house, a relationship, or a decision was sent from heaven, and six months later it collapsed. Ever said, "I really thought God was speaking to me"? Then you know what it's like to admit you were wrong.

People push back: "But I test what I hear against the Bible." Good. Even that takes care, though. Satan quoted Psalm 91 to Jesus in the wilderness. The words were right there in the text. They were twisted. Selfless words, bent into a selfish demand, asking Jesus to test God's protection of His own life. Jesus answered with the Bible rightly handled. Our safeguard isn't hunting a verse that seems to back up what we already want. We submit ourselves to the whole counsel of God, read straight. There's the safeguard.

God still speaks today. His Spirit speaks through His Word. Long ago, Hebrews 1:1 says, God spoke through the prophets; now He has spoken in His Son, and the Bible stands complete. Jude 3 tells us to contend for the faith "once for all delivered to the saints." Enough. We already have it. Faced with a decision, the real danger isn't that God has gone quiet. We'll add to His Word and call our own ideas His. There's the danger.

Take a simple example. You're sitting in a coffee shop, you notice someone across the room, and you're drawn to speak to them about Christ. You do it. The conversation goes well. Maybe the person even comes to faith. Praise God! Do we need to say, "God told me to talk to them"? No. Scripture already commands us to make disciples, and the Spirit gives believers new hearts that care about lost people. You saw an opening, prayed for courage, and obeyed a clear command. Christian obedience, not new revelation.

Now flip it. You sense you shouldn't approach someone, so you hold back. Later you find out they were hurting and needed someone to listen. What then? Did God tell you to stay away? Were you misled? More likely, what you felt was fear, fatigue, caution, past experience, or plain uncertainty. We read tone, posture, facial expressions all day. Nothing evil in any of it. Still, none of it's a divine oracle.

Here's the real danger. A strong impression has three possible sources: God, Satan, or your own fallen heart. Satan knows your desires. He knows your blind spots, and he uses them as a way in. Jeremiah 17 says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Assume every strong pull is divine, and you're ignoring how your own heart actually works by default. You're treating what you experience inside as more reliable than the written Word. We've reversed the Reformed conviction that Scripture alone governs faith and practice. Not our feelings. God gave us the ability to feel, to ache, to show compassion. A gift. Not prophetic authority.

How should Christians make daily decisions? Pray for wisdom. Search the Scriptures. Seek counsel from mature believers who'll tell you the truth, not what you want to hear. Watch providence. Use sanctified common sense. Then act, humbly, knowing you could be wrong.

Real example: you're weighing a job change. The Bible doesn't tell you which job to accept; it tells you to provide for your family and not to love money. Pray for wisdom. You notice a gnawing unease about the salary negotiation. Data about your own perception, not a prophecy. Ask a mentor what she sees. Look at whether the circumstances are opening or closing. Then decide, knowing you might be wrong.

A simple change in language would help many believers. Listen to the difference. Instead of claiming a word from the Lord, you say, "I have a strong conviction, and I think this is the wise course." Or, "I may be wrong, but this is where wisdom seems to be pointing." Language like that keeps us humble. We can be mistaken without attaching God's name to our mistake.

We're not left at the mercy of shifting moods and random thoughts. He has given us His Word, His Spirit, and the church, brothers and sisters who can give us wise counsel. Even so, we still blow it. Sometimes we ignore the very advice we asked for. None of us is perfect, and if we were, we wouldn't need help. Pray. Meditate on God's providence. Above all else, remember we have Jesus Christ.

Second Peter 1:3 says God's divine power has granted us "all things that pertain to life and godliness." No need to chase every inward feeling, wondering if heaven is sending secret instructions. Open the Word. Pray. Ask wise believers. Walk humbly. Obey what God has clearly said. Do these things, and you'll find the decisions He wants you to make in His Word, not in your emotions.