Your Fleece?

[MissAmazing]

So I talk to God all the time. I was asking a friend of
mine how to really know what God is saying to you,
how to really hear him and KNOW his replies are really
from HIM and not simply something I WANT to hear.

My friend told me the story of the fleece. You are
probably familiar with this--I think it was Gideon,
he asked about a particular problem, defeating a tribe
or something and the answer God gave him, he wanted
to be sure about. So he asked if God would show him
through a bit of fleece, if he put it out at night
that the ground would be wet but the fleece dry.
Sure enough, the next morning it happened.
He asked again, just to be absolutely sure it wasn't
something science or nature, some fluke. And that this
time, the fleece would be wet and the ground dry.
Sure enough, it happened and Gideeon knew
he was hearing the words of God.

My point to this story is that I've begun to use
a fleece of my own. I have trouble being still and
just hearing the soft whispers of God. I fear the answers
can come from my own wishes, or worse, the wants of
the devil.

Do any of you use this way to talk to God? Any
thoughts or comments, any special fleece stories?

Thanks and HELLO to all of you. I know
I should make myself an intro post. I will.

Love
Jessica

 

[Caramel]

Thanks for posting this. I struggle with the same thing and have also wondered about this method.

 

[jive4005]

Keep listening Sister Miss. Truth is He is always talking to us. It's our receivers that get out of whack... like when we lose a radio singnal in the car. The signal's still there, but we need to re-tune our own set.
Sister, I know, as surely as I know I'm saved, that if you practice (make a habit of...) hanging out with Jesus, His voice will become very clear.

I'm so excited for you. I just know God's gonna dump a load of the Holy Ghost on you (that's a GOOD thing!) soon.

 

[Radiata]

I have always had trouble with this. People say that they hear God saying to them to do something, but I just don't get it. The closest thing to this is when I resort to the bible for guidence. I really can't hear God other than that.

 

[rocklife]

I appreciate listening to Bible on walkmen tapes. Scripture, Jesus' Spirit and prayers are the only things I rely on. whatever I think God may be saying or guiding me with, there is a Scripture support for it, also I check my conscience as much as possible and pray and think if it's the right thing to do.

I am going through the Old Testament and it does say that God would send plagues and droughts as a way to show His anger at the people's disobedience to Him, and that shows me sometimes God does use nature as a way to give us some clues, not always but not uncommon. That kind of reminds me of seeing fleeces, we just need to be careful of not testing God though, we need to remain humble and seeking God

 

[jive4005]

Always remember... the Bible is a Living Document. It was written so that God could and does use it as a way of "speaking" to us. Just because God doesn't orate to you certainly doesn't mean He's on coffee break or not wanting you on His speed-dial.

People need to accept HOWEVER God speaks to them. We should not be looking for a show or an experience. We should be SERVING Him and thanking Him that He takes any interest (ah, can't get away for that LOVE thing) in us at all... but He does!!!

Listen and hear... seek and find... love and be loved. Gotta love how God works!

 

[Daniels]

Jere

32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too
hard for me?

Judges
6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand,
as thou hast said,
6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on
the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I
know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.​

6:38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the
fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full
of water.
6:39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me,
and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this
once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and
upon all the ground let there be dew.

With God all things are possible both natural and supernatural.​

 

[MissAmazing]

Thank you all for your response.

I believe "listening" to his words in the Bible
is the best, of course. For me, and I'm sure others
it is difficult to decide sometimes which direction
to go, or if we should or shouldn't do something--
like taking a job offer, home, a date, etc.

Sometimes it's not quite a "fleece", but I ask
God--Lord, if this is what I am supposed to do,
please make it work out, please let things fall in
to place.

Sometimes I think I am living a life like Jonah
in that I am not following his will and that is why
things have been so difficult for me, and why
I seem so unsuccessful, misguided, scattered about.
I pray and pray and pray for guidance
and at times even cry out---GOD PLEASE! I AM
A FOOL!! PLEASE SHOW ME IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS
WHAT EXACTLY I AM SUPPOSED TO DO FOR YOU!!
I AM HAPPY TO DO ANYTHING, SHARE YOUR WORD WITH
EVERYONE, PLEASE SHOW ME WHERE I NEED TO BE!
and yet, I find myself time and again living back
at my parent's house working some crappy job
barely making enough to cover necessities.
I think maybe that is what I am supposed to do--
have these jobs where I see so much of the public,
and have the opportunity to share his love with so many.

For my fleece, I use the wind.
When the wind blows, God is saying YES
and when it is still he is saying NO.

and of course, if it seems a bit unsure
I ask him again, to show me YES or NO
a little more clearly, and he does--the wind
will gust, sometimes even just a single bush
in the still around it, or the wind will halt, all around
to show in no uncertain terms that the answer
is NO.

I really like this way to communicate.
Sometimes I can hear him say, "no wind"
and that means to me he doesn't want to
show me the answer at that time and that's
ok! There is something I need to learn or do
or figure out before he will give me an answer.
Sometimes he tells me "you already know".

anyway, thanks for listening.
I need to go talk some things out with him.

Jessica

 

[JPPT1974]

Even if you don't feel it
Still God is talking to us
And that He is speaking in our
Hearts and lives in His still, small
But powerful voice.

 

[Timuchin]

God will take each of us where we are. He will then grow us from there. I went through the "fleece" time with God when I was a young Christian, but as I grew up and became more secure in divine guidance, God didn't let me get away with that any more. We need to pray for wisdom as it says in James 1:5. God will send the Holy Spirit to be your counselor, to lead you into all truth.

The account of Gideon is in the Bible, but we must be careful about leaning on what God has told someone else. This is the Logos of God, the general revelation of God's will and ways. We must graduate to using the Rhema of God, God's direct revelation to you of what to say & do. If there's any question, the two will agree because they have the same Author.

When I saw my wife-to-be, the Lord had pointed her out to me and said, "That's going to be your wife." I said "okay." For her, though, she grew to love me, but she wasn't sure. Her sense of guidance was poor. She demanded from God about six different "fleece" circumstances as proof. Each one was brought to pass.

If I have a dilemma where I am too stressed and need an answer quickly, I figuratively 'hold' one alternative in one hand the other alternative in the other hand. Which hand has the peace on it?

If I have a Big One and I am too torn to be sure of my guidance, I will find someone who is godly and not vested in the outcome of the decision. We will pray together over the decision.

My wife and I ended up in charge of a small Episcopal church due to the pastor giving two weeks' notice. The denomination was going downhill rapidly. Do we hold our noses & stay or leave & shred the church? Through prayer, we chose a Vineyard bishop who prayed with us for the decision for three hours.

 

[Radiata]

So I need some input on this story.

I left my house today on a bike ride. Before I had traveled one tenth of a mile, a Japanese betel flew and hit me hard right under my left eye. It hurt. I got nervous. Was this my fleece telling me that injury will happen if I continue? I decided that a bug wouldn't be enough to convince me, and said to God, there needs to be more bugs to persuade me. I continued on, and reached the pharmacy, picked up some medication, and then continued on. In about ¼ mile, I got hit again by another Japanese beetle. This time on my left arm, right after I was thinking about my fleece.

What then? I decided that I should take a different route just to stay on the safe side. This one took me down the back streets. I was being very careful as I continued on. I just didn’t know what God was telling me? I reached the library, and renewed a book that I had been reading. I decided that I didn’t want to continue after that. I hadn’t even gotten out of the parking lot before my mind dwelled again on the fleece. And then, not even one second after the thought came to me, I got hit again. This time on the neck. I grabbed it and saw that it was indeed, another Japanese beetle. I vowed that I would take the utmost care on the way back home.

On the way home, taking the back road, I got hit by another. But enough with all the times being hit, I made it home safely with no injuries. What do you think this means?