FILTERS✨👓

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom 10:17)

That second "by" suggests a filter:
We can hear an instruction from God and filter it by our feels, OR we can filter His instruction through His heart of Love for us (as revealed in the written Word).

Eg: God says, "Abraham, leave your father's house & go to the land I will show you."
•Pressure interprets that as: "Get out of your father's house because you're not making enough money and you need to suffer in order to learn."
•Other people: "God is a God of Honour, He would never ask you to dishonour your father by breaking away from his household."
•Fear: "I knew it was my father's people who were 'doing' me!"
•Expectation: "God said it's when I leave home that I'll finally blow. Thank God ooo!"

None of those interpretations carry the heart of God for Abraham.
Did God say? Yes.
Everything else is filtered - not by God's Word, but by emotion.

Should we then not ask? Just run ahead without understanding why? Maybe, but God knows His children's curious minds😄 plus, He’s a God of conversation. He said, "Come, let us reason together." (Isa 1:18)
If we don't understand, we can ask without fear, without worrying that He'll banish us to hell for not obeying immediately. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (Jas 1:5)

So how can we tell when it's our emotion vs God?🤷🏽‍♀
All I know is that we must trust that God’s will for us is best & His heart for us is Love.
If we can filter His Instruction through the lens of Love then we can rest in the fact that He will show us how to honour Him without dishonouring others.

So that when God says, "Abraham, leave…" the options we come up with would sound more like:
•Love: "That land must be great! I can't wait to go."
•Honour: "Lord, please give my father peace with this move."
•Trust: "I will go. I trust that You Are with me."

Don't be so worried about whether you heard; rather, check your heart to see what emotion you're filtering the Word through. God will clarify & redirect us; we just need to be open to receiving His correction by His Perspective.