21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” Acts 27:21-26

If you were the ship’s captain, you’d be depressed after hearing this lecture. Lives will be saved but the ship? Not so much. Those who had traveled with Paul earlier would have known Paul’s “track record” for these kinds of predictions: 100%. He certainly had a direct line to God.

And so do we.

Same God the Father. Same Holy Spirit. Same Jesus Christ.

Will you get extra-biblical revelations about your life? Maybe, maybe not.

Notice that Paul (and others) received those revelations when their lives were in jeopardy and when there was no other way to convince them of the truth (Joseph and Mary come to mind, as does Moses). They needed that reassurance and understanding.

If we aren’t receiving extra revelation, does it mean that mean that God is not communicating with us? On the contrary. He speaks to us daily through the Word of God, that is, if we’ll listen.

If we’ll listen.