So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV

There is such a beautiful hidden message within this Scripture for our understanding. The bible is often called the ‘bread of life’ because it contains spiritual food and nourishment for our spiritual growth and development. In addition to this, the words of Jesus give us life. Jesus tells us that He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and we know that He gives us life when we come to Him in full surrender, turn away from our sins and obey all that He has commanded us.

I believe that the hidden message within this Scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3) as the Holy Spirit has revealed it to me is that man cannot live by bread (the written word of God) alone, but also by every word or utterance that comes to us through His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit quickens the Word of God, meaning that He makes it come alive so that we can receive our daily portion of spiritual food. We know that when the Holy Spirit highlights something to us in Scripture, that is how God gives us the Rhema, or the spoken word. He draws our attention to a portion of spiritual food so that we can take it in and follow in obedience to what it says.

Reading the bible is important and the Lord does speak to us through His Word to give us messages, guidance and instructions. But God also speaks to His people in other ways, including things like dreams, visions, pictures, signs, wonders, songs, and even through our thoughts. Sometimes God speaks to us through a message we read, or through a sermon we listen to. God can also give us a message when speaking to a brother or sister in Christ. Sometimes as we speak to others, we may feel like what we are telling them is also relevant for us. The Lord wants to speak to us, and when He has a message for us, He will make sure that we understand what it is that He is communicating to us.

In order for us to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, it is imperative that we spend time with the Lord to get to know Him. As we spend time with the Lord in prayer, praise, worship (obedience) and Scripture study, we get to know God’s heart and His character. The Lord teaches us what pleases Him and what doesn’t. A big part of our wilderness journey is learning to hear and recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s voice sounds like His Word (His written Word). When the Holy Spirit speaks to us, He will never go against the written Word of God.

But hearing Scripture alone does not always mean that something is from the Lord. The enemy also knows Scripture, and he can twist Scripture to suit his agenda. We know that Satan quoted Scripture when he was trying to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. Here is an example of this:

Then he (Satan) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”

Luke 4:9-12 NKJV

Often God speaks to us in our thoughts. As God’s people, we want to hear Him, but how do we know the difference between our own thoughts and when God is trying to communicate with us? We know that the enemy can also quote scripture and send thoughts into our minds, so how do we discern what is from the Lord and what is not?

Even though I am still growing in the area, there are a few things I have learned along the way. I would like to share these with you because I would like to offer help and encouragement for anyone who feels like they would like to grow in this area.

• Jesus says that His sheep know His voice.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

John 10:27 NKJV

Firstly, we choose to believe God’s Word when He tells us that He is our good Shepherd, and that His sheep know His voice. We are His sheep, therefore, we know our Shepherd’s voice. It really just comes down to having faith in His goodness and faithfulness, as well as in His ability to lead us, because the Lord wants to speak to us more than we want to hear Him. He loves us and wants to have a close intimate relationship with each one of us. He wants us to know His voice.

The Lord also tells us that we will not follow a stranger’s voice, because we do not know the voice of strangers.

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

John 10:3-5 NKJV

• Pray for discernment and confirmation.

A few years ago, I experienced firsthand how the enemy tries to interfere in our relationship with the Lord. If he cannot get us to sin, he will try other avenues to hinder our walk with the Lord, or to hinder our spiritual growth. The closer we get to the Lord as we walk in obedience, the greater the resistance from the enemy.

But, God is faithful. He helped me understand that I should continually pray for discernment as well as the confirmation of His will. The Holy Spirit also taught me how to pray the Scriptures, including this one:

“Lord, thank You that You fill me with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” – Colossians 1:9

If something is from God, He is faithful to send us confirmation. I also remember praying that the Lord would sharpen my discernment, and that He would align me to His will so that I could walk in obedience.

I feel like it would be good to mention that when the Lord reveals something to us, it’s normally because He wants us to follow through in obedience. And when we do, He will take us further in our journey with Him.

• God can speak directly into our hearts.

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:32 NKJV

The Lord can also speak directly into our hearts. We may be reading the bible, and a certain passage of Scripture will seem to touch our hearts so deeply. This is normally when the Holy Spirit puts His finger on something because He wants to draw our attention to the message He is giving us.

At other times, the Lord can speak directly into our hearts even when we are not reading the bible. This can happen during prayer, praise, or even when we are just going about our day. We will feel drawn in a certain direction, or we will just know with absolute certainty what the Lord wants us to do.

• Condemnation and discouragement are not from the LORD. The Holy Spirit is our Encourager (Paraclete).

Any time we receive messages of condemnation or discouragement, we can be sure that these messages are not from the Lord. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin – He does not condemn.

And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

John 16:8 NKJV

The purpose of the Holy Spirit bringing conviction of sin, is firstly to help us recognize that we have sinned, and secondly, so that we can turn away from it. Jesus promised us that under the New Covenant, He writes His laws on our hearts and in our minds (Hebrews 10:16). Therefore, when the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin, He normally speaks into our hearts and minds telling us that we have done wrong, so that we can repent and ask the Lord to forgive us. 

Condemnation on the other hand is when we receive messages of accusation accompanied with feelings of shame, guilt and unworthiness – resulting in us feeling distant from God. The purpose of the enemy condemning a person is to make them feel too guilty to go back to God, hide from God, or feel like they’ve messed up too many times to be forgiven. The enemy can also bring false accusations against us to make us question our walk with the Lord, or to bring doubt or confusion, or to discourage us.

Discouragement always comes from the enemy. Any time we feel discouraged, we should immediately pray and ask God to reveal the reason why we feel discouraged. Remember that the enemy is a liar and he may be trying to shipwreck our faith, or make us doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness. The good news for us is that faith is not dependent upon our feelings. We can walk by faith regardless of how we feel.

When we receive messages of encouragement, we can be sure that these come from the Lord because the Holy Spirit is our Encourager, Comforter, Helper, Teacher, and He is the Spirit of truth. The Greek word translated “Comforter” (as found in John 14:16) is parakletos (or Paraclete). Paraclete basically means: “The One who comes alongside to exhort (strongly urging someone to do something) and encourage God’s people. We bless You and thank You Lord for Your Precious Holy Spirit!

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper/Comforter, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16-17 NKJV

• Check for the fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV

This is actually something that a brother in Christ pointed out to me which I never really considered beforehand – even though it seems obvious. When something is from the Lord, we should be able to move in that direction with joy, peace and self-control. We are here to serve the Lord and one another, so if the instruction is one whereby we can serve one another from a place of Christ like love – that is a good sign that we are on the right track.

However, if we don’t have peace or joy about what we hear, we can immediately pray to God and ask Him for discernment and confirmation of His will. Any time we feel forced or pressurized to do something, it might be a red flag. Also, nagging is not from the Lord. In other words, when we get a continual message pressurizing us to do something that we don’t have peace about, it could be a demonic (nagging) spirit.

The Lord is patient with us. Even though it is good to respond quickly to the Lord’s requests because we love Him and we want to obey Him, there may be times where we do feel uncertain. At these times the Lord will be very patient with us, because that is His character. In my journey, I found that if something was from the Lord, He very gently came back to those things He wanted me to do, but without guilt, pressure or condemnation.

Jesus is our good Shepherd who takes care of us and leads us with love and gentleness. We know that we are safe and protected under His care and guidance. In closing off this portion of the message, may I please encourage you to read Psalm 23 as well as Psalm 91. These Scriptures so beautifully describe God’s love and protection for us (His sheep), as well as for those who dwell in the secret place. Meaning, those who spend alone time with the Lord in prayer and Scripture study. The Lord wants us to know Him and hear His voice. He will teach us and guide us continually.

I pray this message helps you and encourages you in your walk with the Lord.

Blessings in Jesus mighty name.