This is a tough question for me to ask. The first thing that you obviously have to assume if you are going to ask this question is this…

1. God exists

For some of you this may be a really basic assumption but for others it may not be. You cannot sincerely ask this question without believing that there really is a God out there.

I also believe that if you are going to ask this question there is another assumption that you have to make that may be a bit more difficult than the first one….

2. God actually wants to speak to you

You’re not going to ask God what he is saying if you don’t believe that he wants to speak to you. To believe that God exists and that he wants to speak to you says that you believe in some things regarding his character. It would seem that you believe that he is actually good, concerned and knowledgeable when it comes to your life.

As we unpack this question, I believe we can still extract a few more insights from within it. If you ask God what he is saying, you are also most likely assuming something very important about you.

3. You don’t have all the answers

What would be the point in asking God what he is saying if you think you already know everything. Even though none of us would ever say that we think we know everything, sometimes the way that we live our lives betrays that conviction. Those of you who are guilty of this, myself included, know what I mean.

Let me now move forward and say why this question is so challenging to me. Because I take God seriously I don’t want to ask him this question without seriously wanting to know the answer. Knowing that God is much higher, wiser, greater, stronger and bigger than I am, I have to assume that if he does decide to answer me…it could be in a way that I would not expect and might not like. Furthermore, I would then know what God is saying and would have the opportunity to take whatever he said seriously or disregard it. I think we can all understand that a child who does the wrong thing unknowingly is less guilty than the child who does the wrong thing willingly.

This question, I think, is both good news and a challenge. It is good news because we actually do serve a God who wants to speak to us. Even though he is so much greater and holier than we could ever imagine, he still wants to have relationship with us. He demonstrated this by doing what he did on the cross for us and rising from the dead. The challenge behind this question is to each of us at the very center of our lives.

Do we really want to hear from God….do we really want to live for him? Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart…” God wants to be found by each one of us but if this is going to happen, it means that we must lay down our lives. We cannot possibly hope to keep all of our thoughts, opinions, agendas and everything else and yet still have a relationship with the God of the universe. There will be times when God wants to change something major in your life. This isn’t because he doesn’t love you but because he does. There will come times when relationship with God will mean laying down that which matters most to you so that you can gain what truly matters most.

“God, what are you saying?” Do you believe he exists? Do you believe he wants to speak to you? Do you have the courage, humility and patience to ask that question and authentically wait for an answer? You may be tremendously be surprised by what happens next or by what he says.