Have you ever had one of those times when you felt strongly impressed to do something but it didn’t make a lot of sense? I mean you couldn’t verify it except to say, “I just felt like I needed to do or not do it?” So, you drive home a different way or stop at a certain place or... and nothing incredible happened?
How do you process that? I mean, is that the Lord speaking to you? Is it a hunch? Your imagination? The result of too much pizza... too late at night?
For me it comes down to the story of the Jade. Do you remember? A young man wanted to become a carver of jade. So, he went to the master and asked if he would apprentice him. The master agreed, with one stipulation: he must agree to do everything the master told him to do, without question. The young man agreed.
The next day he began his “training”. The master gave him a piece of jade and told him to keep it with him at all times, yes even when he was sleeping. He then assigned him several menial tasks to perform. The young man did this without question for a whole month.
Finally, he had enough of weeding the garden, preparing the meals, washing the dishes, wax on wax off...and went storming up to the master and threw the jade at his feet. He yelled, “I want to be a master jade carver not a house boy!” The master calmly picked up the stone and tossed it back to him. As soon as it touched his hand he exclaimed, “This is not jade!”
The master took the rock from him and returned the “real” jade and said, “Now we can begin.”
You get the point, right? If you spend enough time with something you get to know it well. You can recognize it immediately, as soon as it touches your hand. Anything that is “counterfeit” is instantly detected.
It is the same in our relationship with God. The more time we spend with Him, the better we get to know Him. Then, when we feel “impressed” to do, say, responded, act, give, go... we will KNOW if it’s counterfeit or if it is from Him.
There are lots of voices out there but spending time with Him will let us know “Who is Calling!”