The question can quietly haunt even the most committed follower of Jesus.

We long to hear God’s voice—until the moment we think it might disrupt our carefully laid plans and desires. I once spoke with a young woman who captured this feeling perfectly: “I’m too scared to listen to the Holy Spirit,” she said, “what if God says something I don’t like?”

I’ve known the feeling. I remember having the same fear at the beginning of my God conversations journey. What if God asked me to move to a country I didn’t want to live in? Or marry someone I didn’t like? What if God’s will doesn’t align with my desires?

Our fear of what God might say disappears when we remember what God is like. Adam’s story shows us why.

Adam was leading a Bible study for a group of people who were struggling with addictions and crime. One evening, he gave them a simple homework assignment: “Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you this week. Then come back and tell us what God said.”

The next week, they gathered again, stories in hand. One couple was especially excited. They had each prayed separately—and incredibly, God had spoken the same thing to both of them.

Adam was hopeful. He thought of all the life-changing things God could say: “get free from drugs, care for your children, stop the criminal behaviour!” 

Instead, they beamed and said, “God told us to register our car!”

Adam was shocked. That was it? 

A week later, the couple came back with joy and a sense of victory. “We registered our car! What’s next?”

Can you see what’s happening here? That moment captures something essential about God’s voice. God doesn’t drop a mountain of demands on our shoulders. Like a loving and patient Father, He meets us where we are and invites us forward—one step at a time. Each word He speaks is tailored to our journey. Each step builds trust. Each instruction leads to healing and wholeness.

When we remember God’s character, we discover the Spirit’s voice is not something to fear. Jesus said it himself: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). God isn’t looking to trap or punish us. He’s guiding us gently, like the Good Shepherd he is.

Fear comes when we forget the character of God. God’s words are always good, always loving, always for us. As Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63b). God’s words aren’t burdens to bear—they’re nourishment to feed us. 

So yes, God may speak something unexpected. The Spirit may speak something that challenges us. But God will never speak anything unloving. God’s words bring life, not fear. God’s voice always leads us home.

Article supplied with thanks to God Conversations.

About the Author: Tania Harris is a pastor, speaker, author and the founder of God Conversations.

Feature image: Canva

What language does God speak? Hebrew? English? ‘Australian’?! Or perhaps, the one we best understand… 

Leigh’s God Conversation

Leigh had a high-profile career in the recruitment industry. In his role as National Accounts director, he was responsible for overseeing 2000 staff across multiple client accounts. It was a face-paced and high pressure position that involved strategic meetings, contract negotiations and frequent travel around the world. Though it was demanding and often stressful, Leigh thrived – at first. But after 13 years, Leigh began to experience a deep sense of un-fulfilment. Life was still good, but something was missing.

In the midst of his growing dissatisfaction, Leigh had a vivid dream. This was unusual since Leigh rarely remembered his dreams. In the dream, Leigh saw himself at the office, standing in front of his treasured whiteboard. Leigh was a big fan of whiteboards. He used them all the time to train and manage his staff and had multiple boards installed in his office. He even had a portable board for his travels.

In the dream, there was writing on the whiteboard. Written in the centre was Leigh’s job title: “national account director.” Then in a circle around his job title were written other areas of his life… “family”, “friends”, “God” and “church.” These were all written in non-permanent marker that was easily erased, but for some reason his job title was written in permanent ink. No matter how hard Leigh tried, it couldn’t be erased.

When Leigh woke up, he knew what God was saying. His job had become the most important area of his life and everything else had been relegated to second place.

After a heartfelt conversation with his wife, Leigh began to reorder his priorities. Later they began to explore a new path for his career—one that would eventually lead to full-time ministry.

God Speaks “Whiteboard”

Leigh’s God conversation shows us what language God speaks. The Holy Spirit spoke in a language Leigh was familiar with. In order to get the message across, God spoke “whiteboard!” The language God used communicated specifically to Leigh’s situation.

This is the beauty of hearing from the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Holy Spirit speaks to remind us of Jesus and then to apply his teachings to our unique situations (John 14:26, 16:13). On earth, Jesus had already spoken to the disciples about how to order their life priorities. God’s kingdom was to be sought first and then all the other areas would be provided for (Matthew 6:33).

Back then of course, Jesus spoke the language of Aramaic using the idioms and metaphors of first century Jews, but in Leigh’s life, the Holy Spirit took those truths and applied them using the language of a 21st century executive! In other words, the Holy Spirit acted as a kind of translator for Jesus.

Perhaps now we can see why Jesus said it was to our advantage that he left! (John 16:7)

The same Holy Spirit that spoke to Leigh has been given to each one of us. As in Leigh’s life, the Spirit takes the universal truths of Jesus and translates it to our personal situations so that we can respond to it. What language does God speak? The one we best understand. 

Article supplied with thanks to God Conversations.

About the Author: Tania Harris is a pastor, speaker, author and the founder of God Conversations.

Feature image: Photo by Slidebean on Unsplash