“God's Word” to us is simply that which God speaks to us. It doesn't have to be, and often isn't, called "God's Word." God can and does speak to us in and through many and various ways:

• the message we receive from reading a book. It might be from the words written in the book, OR it might merely be other thoughts that the book triggers.
• the words of comfort, reassurance, admonishment, or instruction that a friend speaks to us.
• a message we receive from hearing a speaker.
• the words we ourselves speak in correction to our children, which come back and remind us that those words we spoke were for us.
• the lessons we learn from going through a trial or experience in life
• the words that we write in our diary or journal.
• the awe and wonder we feel as we admire God's creation
• the consequences we experience for our wrong behavior. God disciplines those whom He loves1  That discipline is God's message of His love for us.

God's word to us is very personal and directly to us.

One reason that we don't hear God's word to us is that we are often hearing or reading God's message to other people and expecting it to be for us. Sometimes God can speak to us that way, but we should be open to hearing God's voice directed towards us.

God is everywhere and can be experienced wherever we are. As Paul the Apostle said, "In Him we live and move and have our being.2" We don't need to go anywhere to hear or experience God. We just need to be open to, or aware of God in our daily lives. We go through live blind to God's presence. It often takes (what we think of as) some trial or trajedy to open our eyes. In the midst of our pain and grief our eyes begin to open......

• 1. .“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:5-6
• 2. Acts 27:28