One of our pastors asked me yesterday, “How can you really know when you’re hearing from God?”  Great question!  Life’s big decisions should only be decided if we have clearly heard from Him.  My answer?

1.  Bible – God obviously speaks to us through His word.

2.  Inner Peace – God’s wisdom is characterized by peace in your soul (James
     3:17), and will indeed act as arbiter to settle the matter (Colossians 3:15).  If  
     you have inner turmoil about an option, it’s probably not of God.

3.  Spirit Speaks – Occasionally the Holy Spirit will speak a direct message to
     our heart, as He did to Philip (Acts 8:29).  The Spirit guides us into all truth
     (John 16:13).

4.  Godly Counselors - In the abundance of counselors there is victory
     (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 20:18; 24:6).  Bounce your idea off three solid
     believers and see if their advice is the same.

5.  Church Leadership – The Holy Spirit gave the same message to the
     apostles and elders in Acts 15:28.  Corporately, church leaders are a great
     source for discerning God’s direction and will.

6.  Spouse – God put His direction to Abraham into his wife Sarah’s mouth
     (Genesis 21:12).  Who knows you better than spouse?  If God is leading you
     in a certain direction, don’t you suppose that God can send the same
     message to your spouse to confirm it?

7.  In Church – My wife Phyllis and I both received an identical message from
     God to move to California while we were listening to a sermon in a church in
     Seattle.  God often speaks most clearly when the church is gathered (Acts
     13:1-3; 2 Chronicles 20:14-18).

8.  Spiritual Gifts – God will use someone’s spiritual gift to give you a clear word
     (word of wisdom, prophetic word, discernment, etc. 1 Corinthians 12:7-10).
     At a prior church I went and interviewed elsewhere as I was running away
     from God.  God raised up a friend who wrote me a powerful letter that I
     received as if were from God Himself.

9.  Dreams & Visions – We can’t go overboard on this, but Paul (Acts
     16:9,10;18:9),  Peter (Acts 10), Cornelius (Acts 10), Ananias (Acts 9:10) and
     others received visions from God that clearly guided their next step in life.
     Joseph (Matthew 2:13,19) and the Magi (Matthew 2:12) both received dreams
     from God to direct them.  Elihu taught that God does this oftentimes.  (Job
     33:13-18).

10.  Angels – Philip (Acts 28:26) and Paul (Acts 27:23) are among many who
       had an angelic encounter who issued an unmistakable command.

Do not enter into a major life-changing decision quickly.  Allow God to direct you through the above means of communication.  When you hear a voice that says “move to another city or state,” “leave your spouse,” “change churches,” switch jobs,” “have surgery,” etc., be sure to seek the Lord wholeheartedly to see if it’s your voice, Satan’s voice, another person’s voice, or God’s voice.