Tuesday's Vital Pursuits Reading

Happy Super Tuesday Everyone!

Today's reading for the Vital Pursuits lesson focuses on 1 Samuel 3:4. The question is, "How do you know when God is speaking to you, and how would/do you respond? (I'm quoting from memory, so the book may phrase it a little differently.)
If you read my novel-length blog yesterday, you saw what my initial response was to the thought of God verbally speaking to me. Not so great or faith-filled. But He and I are working on that. :)
Looking at today's question made me think, "Are God's other ways of communicating -- such as through other people, during my Bible study, circumstances or the prompting of the Holy Spirit -- any less important or imperative just because they do not involve His audible voice?" NO!
So my personal struggle with listening to God may have less to do with the method of God speaking and more to do with the message.
How many times have I avoided prayer or the Bible, other Christians or going to church just because I knew I was involved in sinful activities? Doing so just made me even more reluctant to be around the people and things of God. Why? Because I knew God would try to speak to me!
I want to encourage you to seek God and truly try to listen to what He has to say through the weekly lessons and daily readings. He obviously is speaking to me through them, and I know He wants to talk with you, too.
And you know what? Even though listening to God is not always pleasant, how comforting and awesome it is to know that He holds the solutions and will help us overcome the sin, temptation, and imperfections in our lives and walks with Him. Thank God that He not only tells us where we're going wrong, but He also forgives and tells us how to correct our course! I'm so glad that God loves me as I am, and loves me too much to leave me that way! (I borrowed that from someone, but what a comforting thought!)