Why do I think God talks to me?
People ask "Why do you think that what you experience really is God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit)? How do you know your brain is not making this up or being tempted to believe what you want to hear?"
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First, trust me, it's not always what I want to hear. Aside from that...
Here are a few things that have convinced me:
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His knowledge of the scriptures far surpasses mine. When he says, "Turn to Isaiah 28" it's always on the right topic even though I have no idea what Isaiah 28 is about.
In hours of questioning, I've never found anything that contradicts the Bible.
He knows the original Hebrew and Greek. When we disagree, invariably the Greek backs him up. (To be frank, it's frustrating that he is always right!)
As Jesus pointed out, I would never make up God like this. He is both nicer and more exacting, more fun, more interesting, less judgmental, and he does weird things like play the guitar. (I say, "You could make this less difficult by being more what I expected!" He shrugs and says, "I am who I am... I will never change.")
He, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit always know what to do: cheer me up, make me more upset to bring out my feelings, tell jokes, hold me in their arms. After years of struggling with depression and anxiety, I don't think my brain could suddenly make up three perfect therapists.
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But the biggest thing is the amazing amount of great fruit.
According to Jesus's test that a good tree bears good fruit, this is the greatest tree I have ever seen. After 23 years of being a Christian, I am suddenly much, much happier, better adjusted, wiser, more insightful, more creative person since the three of them started talking to me. My friends saw an instant transformation.
I have so much more to give. I love more freely since God is healing my heart. I am less guarded, so I connect more deeply. People are inspired by God's desire for an honest relationship, not automatons who always say and do the right thing.
Sometimes I say scary things like, "I feel like I hate you right now."
His typical response is, "Please, tell me more."
Then, afterwards he says, "Thank you. I am honored by your honesty. You have a lot of faith to tell me those things and not hide them inside."
So that's a small window into why I think they really are God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It's been difficult to believe, but all the signs of the Divine are there. The whole experience has been bathed in love and growth. I hope that you will experience that as you read what I write.
