Impressions

You suspect God is calling you for some special task or even for a career of ministry. How can you know your call is from the Lord? In the Bible, people such as Samuel (1 Sam 3:4-10) and Isaiah (Isa 6:8) experienced direct, audible calls from God. These instances left no doubt about the divine origin of call. . I know very, very few people who say they have heard an audible voice from God. So how does one know?  Let me suggest that one way is wrapped up in the word “impression.”  As a teen-ager at summer youth camp at Palacios Baptist Encampment, I felt “impressed” that God was calling me.  By definition, an impression is “an idea, feeling, or opinion about something, especially formed without conscious thought.” One unknown writer said, “Sometimes, the most profound messages come not through words, but through impressions on the heart.” God may impress something in your thoughts or in your emotions. J. I. Packer writes, “Direct communications from God take the form of impressions.” The writer of Ecclesiastes, having experienced the wonders of God, wrote, “This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me” (Ecclesiastes 8:13 NASB).  What is God impressing on you today?