Jesus said to his followers, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32). If we hold to his teaching, meaning live in it, abide in it, and follow it, then we will know the truth. That's exactly the way hearing from God works. When we abide in his word, we will know his voice, which is truth.

All of scripture is God talking to his people. So, in order to hear from God, you must know scripture.

God has given us scripture, and he calls it his word. It is the word of God. And we refer to it as God's word. So, how do you know when God's talking to you? Because he talks through his word.

In order to hear God talking to you, you must know his word. The more you know his word, the better you'll hear his voice.

People who live in affluence for all of life (such as many people in North America and Western Europe) can easily become so accustomed to wealth, blessings, and prosperity that they can easily forget what blessings they actually have. However, if those possessions are taken away, those people will certainly look at life with a new perspective, realizing how much they really had.

You don't realize how much you have until you don't have it anymore.

God knows the importance of balance; that is, the importance of having both blessings and difficulties. There are several scriptures that speak about this balance. For example in 1 Peter 4:13, we are told: Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. Notice how we participate both in suffering and in joy.

Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 1:7, Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth: And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. They experienced both suffering and comfort.

Don't become too comfortable with what you have, because when you forget that the things you have are a blessing from God and when you start to assume that they are guaranteed possessions, it is quite possible that God will take them away from you in order to teach you that you need both blessings and difficulties, because one without the other is neither.