Getting Started This Week | How Do I Hear From God | Week 5
August 31 - September 5, 2026
Pain
Focus of the Week:
God speaks to us. He is intimately aware of every aspect of our lives. Not only does He speak through Scripture, Prayer, the Holy Spirit and people around us, but also to us through the circumstances of our lives.
God speaks to us. He is intimately aware of every aspect of our lives. Not only does He speak through Scripture, Prayer, the Holy Spirit and people around us, but also to us through the circumstances of our lives.
Getting Ready For The Week
This week will look like last week for those that were with us. Instead of written content each day to read in addition to scripture, we are diving deep on day one giving scripture for each following day. This lets us read and hear more from God's word directly and reflect and journal on His words.
Notes on the practices:
Journaling and reflection both help to slow down and be mindful of what is being read. Both are similar practices; feel free to journal reflection questions or reflect on journalling questions. These are here to be a guide, not a task. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to whatever He may want to highlight for you specifically.
Getting Started:
Perhaps one of the most difficult and uncomfortable ways that God can speak to us is through pain. When we wrestle with this reality, the struggle often comes from our avoidant nature. The world teaches us to avoid suffering, to seek out the places of ease and relief. Truthfully, that's how we are hardwired - we crave healing, we want restoration, we desire peace. But if we spend our lives constantly moving away from hurt, we miss encounters with God that we couldn't possibly have in our comfort.
Another challenge with pain - it can blind us with overwhelming circumstances to the point of despair. You might be walking through grieving the devastating loss of family, friends, or something you never thought you could lose. Maybe you are dealing with illness or physical pain that no matter what you do, it just doesn't go away. These pains can be so loud that it's all but impossible to hear God when He speaks. At other times, these pains can make God's voice so loud it is undeniable.
Dear friend, regardless of how you might be feeling - avoidant or overwhelmed by pain - there is life-giving truth available that speaks to your heart. First, we do not experience pain in vain. Just as Christ endured suffering for the redemption of mankind, our hurt can have greater kingdom significance (1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 1:24). Second, God is not distant, but very near to our broken hearts (Psalm 34:18-19). He interacts with us and our world every moment of every day. He is not unconcerned with what people, things, and events make up our lives. In fact, He uses them to bring us closer to Him, that we may see Him in a truer and fuller light. Our circumstances, whether joyful or painful, deepen our faith in God. Each is an opportunity to glorify the Father and advance the Gospel.
As you spend time in God's word this week, may you feel challenged to seek God's voice amid trials. For when we are most acutely aware of our own frailty, then we can truly recognize the depths of His majesty and our great enduring need for Him.
Let this be the starting point:
Ask God to speak louder than the voices of your circumstances.
Notes on the practices:
Journaling and reflection both help to slow down and be mindful of what is being read. Both are similar practices; feel free to journal reflection questions or reflect on journalling questions. These are here to be a guide, not a task. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to whatever He may want to highlight for you specifically.
Getting Started:
Perhaps one of the most difficult and uncomfortable ways that God can speak to us is through pain. When we wrestle with this reality, the struggle often comes from our avoidant nature. The world teaches us to avoid suffering, to seek out the places of ease and relief. Truthfully, that's how we are hardwired - we crave healing, we want restoration, we desire peace. But if we spend our lives constantly moving away from hurt, we miss encounters with God that we couldn't possibly have in our comfort.
Another challenge with pain - it can blind us with overwhelming circumstances to the point of despair. You might be walking through grieving the devastating loss of family, friends, or something you never thought you could lose. Maybe you are dealing with illness or physical pain that no matter what you do, it just doesn't go away. These pains can be so loud that it's all but impossible to hear God when He speaks. At other times, these pains can make God's voice so loud it is undeniable.
Dear friend, regardless of how you might be feeling - avoidant or overwhelmed by pain - there is life-giving truth available that speaks to your heart. First, we do not experience pain in vain. Just as Christ endured suffering for the redemption of mankind, our hurt can have greater kingdom significance (1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 1:24). Second, God is not distant, but very near to our broken hearts (Psalm 34:18-19). He interacts with us and our world every moment of every day. He is not unconcerned with what people, things, and events make up our lives. In fact, He uses them to bring us closer to Him, that we may see Him in a truer and fuller light. Our circumstances, whether joyful or painful, deepen our faith in God. Each is an opportunity to glorify the Father and advance the Gospel.
As you spend time in God's word this week, may you feel challenged to seek God's voice amid trials. For when we are most acutely aware of our own frailty, then we can truly recognize the depths of His majesty and our great enduring need for Him.
Let this be the starting point:
Ask God to speak louder than the voices of your circumstances.
Scriptures For The Week
Scripture helps us hear God and live out His truth. This week we will focus on Scripture that displays God speaking through the Holy Spirit.
- Tuesday | Source of Comfort - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
- Wednesday | Attention to Instruction - Psalm 119:65-72
- Thursday | Tested Faith = Completeness - James 1:2-4
- Friday | The Lord is Enough - Deuteronomy 8:2-3
- Saturday | Sufficient in Weakness - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Weekly Memory Verse
Read it once a day. Let it shape how you think and pray this week.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
1 Peter 5:10 NLT
1 Peter 5:10 NLT
Reflection
Reflection helps us pause, listen, and let God speak to our hearts.
- Am I overwhelmed by my circumstances?
- How do I expect God to speak?
- Do I look for God to use my circumstances to speak to me?
Ready To Begin?
You don’t have to have everything figured out.
Just take the next step.
Just take the next step.
Engage Scripture Daily, Come Back Next Week
Spend time each day this week reading and rereading the passage of Scripture. Spend time in prayer as you reflect and journal aspects that stood out to you as God speaks to us through our circumstances. Join us next week as we explore the the Helmet of Salvation in the Armor of God.