Episode 272: When Someone Means Well But Tells You Wrong

How do you know if what you're hearing is actually from God? In this episode, Dot and Cara get honest about one of the most real questions a believer carries, and the answer keeps coming back to the same place: knowing His Word. Dot shares a story from her own marriage that makes the stakes of this unforgettable, and Cara opens up about a journaling practice that has been quietly changing the way she hears from God. Pull up a chair, grab your Bible, and lean in with us.Got a question about today’s episode or something else you’d like to hear us talk about on the show? Let us know! Episode RecapIntro — Dot opens by calling everyone to grab their Bible, a pencil, and a cup of coffee. This episode is as personal as it gets. (00:00)Write this down: Deuteronomy 6:6-9 — God's word belongs on your heart, your hands, and your doorpost (00:00)The whole idea behind "Write This Down": write it down so you can take it to God and ask Him directly whether it's true, not just hold onto someone else's good intentions (01:10)How do you know if what you're hearing is actually from God? The answer always comes back to knowing His Word and His heart, and Dot has a story from her marriage that makes the stakes of this impossible to forget (03:08)A well-meaning friend once told Dot that God would want her to leave Howard. Dot knew enough Scripture to know the difference between God's peace and her own unhappiness, and that knowledge changed everything (04:28)Write This Down from the Book of Job: his friends thought they were speaking for God, and at the end of the book God was angry at them for it. The responsibility of speaking for God is real, and it starts with knowing what He actually said (06:41)Cara opens up about what she's been walking through this year, and how journaling words she senses from God and then comparing them to Scripture has become a lifeline (09:03)Going back through journal entries from January, Cara finds God saying the same thing He said in April. Confirmation comes through consistency, and it's the kind of thing you can only catch when you write it down (13:01)Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." If you've ever wondered whether God really speaks to His people, He already answered that in John 10, and Dot breaks down why that's a firm place to stand (22:15)Where to start if you're new to Scripture: Dot always points people to the Book of John, because John's whole purpose is to prove that Jesus is God. Two verses and a willing heart is enough. (25:51)Dot closes with a look at her father's cross on the wall of her study and a truth that quietly settles everything: you cannot honestly say you've never been loved or never been chosen (30:43)Are you interested in having Dot come and speak to your community? Email us at [email protected] Write this Down! on YouTubeFind Dot Bowen on Instagram and Facebook This Episode’s Scripture VerseDeuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV) — "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."