Proverbs 27:17
Friday, May 15, 2026
Renewing Praise
Renewing Praise
Praise glorifies God while also spreading His name. It affirms His character to us, and proclaims His goodness to the world.
But what is our motivation to praise Him? As we grow in our knowledge of God, we learn about His steadfast love and faithfulness. That leads to an overflowing of praise. This is why David was able to write this psalm of praise to God, even as he hid for his life in a cave. David’s suffering led to worship because he found comfort in God’s character and plan.
Worshiping God puts your admiration for Him on display. The words and actions that result from an overflowing love spread God’s fame, reaching nonbelievers as they observe the joy you have received. Allow your praise and admiration for Christ to shine every day so you can fully participate in God’s story. Let Christ’s love in you seep out into the world, reaching those who don’t know Him.
More Ways to Hear From God
More Ways to Hear From God
Ways God Speaks to Us: #4—God speaks through other people.
Proverbs 15:22 offers this wisdom, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Proverbs is wisdom literature, which is full of principles, not promises. The proverb above is a good example. Are there times when there are many advisers and a plan still fails? Yep! But in general, if we ask advice from advisers—from wise people who know what they’re talking about, who know us, and who are prayerful and want God’s best—we tend to make better decisions.
For me, I have a personal “board of directors” who know me and who have proven to be wise influences. My mentor, my cousin, my mom and dad, a close friend, and my wife.
If they all agree—or most of them do—on something, I feel pretty good about it. If they all disagree, well . . . they’re wrong! Just kidding—then I'd better not do it.
When we need to hear from God, he can use others to guide us.
Ways God Speaks to Us: #5—God speaks through Scripture.
Obvious, I know. But check out 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
To be clear, Paul is not referring to the New Testament here (it didn’t exist yet), but the Old Testament. Specifically, Paul would have been referring to the Old Testament witness that points to Jesus as the Messiah.
Still, we can take the principle of this verse and apply it to the New Testament now, as we believe that both the Old and New Testaments are Scripture. When you need to hear from God, he can use Scripture in your life, too.
Ways God Speaks to Us: #6—God speaks through his Spirit.
I saved this one for last because I think God’s Spirit is the enabler who gives us ears to hear his voice within the other five ways God speaks to us (mentioned above).
God’s Spirit helps us read the story of Jesus that happened in a different context with a different set of people, and understand how Jesus’s life and teachings impact the way we live today.
God’s Spirit inspires our hearts to resonate with something in creation that speaks to God’s majesty, power, or other divine qualities.
The Holy Spirit can inspire an artist to write a song that has a lyric that challenges our perspective or confirms God’s calling, while also using that same song in the life of another person and the artist herself.
God’s Spirit can fill someone with wisdom and prompt them to share wisdom with us as we approach a difficult decision.
And without God’s Spirit, it’s impossible to read the Scriptures and understand how these ancient stories, written for ancient people, intersect powerfully in our lives today.
I think all of this is why Jesus said to his followers, “. . . it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). The Advocate he was referring to is the Holy Spirit, and Jesus felt it was better for us to have the Spirit than for us to have his very presence.
We need the Spirit’s presence because even though God speaks to us faithfully in a number of different ways, the truth is, it’s still really easy to mishear God.
Here’s at least one good life hack I use to determine if what I think I’m hearing is actually from God: when multiple ways God speaks to us come together and agree, I’m pretty sure God is nudging me forward. If the opposite happens, and I think I have a great idea that fits with my convictions, but my mentors are like, “Whoa! Hold up. Not sure that’s what I see God doing in your life,” I will pause and ask God to confirm what I’m sensing from him.
Oh, and never be afraid to ask God for more confirmation. That’s not a lack of faith— it actually takes quite a bit of faith to trust that God will confirm where you feel he’s leading.
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