Did God really say?

Roland Burris, the man chosen by tainted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat, said something yesterday that struck a nerve with me.

""We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained," Burris said. "I am not hesitating. I am now the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. Some people may want to question that and that is their prerogative."

Now I have no opinion here about whether Burris should be the Senator or not. What I am drawn to is the idea that God ordained him to be the Senator. How does he know this? What if he doesn't end up being the Senator, does that mean God changed His mind? I bring this up because I can't tell you how many times I had friends say that God spoke to them about something, only to see that something not work out. So then the person would be left with two options: 1. God changed His mind (which He can't do according to Scripture) or 2. They didn't do something right and so God is holding off on His promise or command (word of faith, prosperity teaching, theology of glory).

I'm not saying that God can't speak today, He can and does. But I think we need to recognize where God speaks normally: God speaks through His Word (the Bible) and the Sacraments. If you want to know what He has ordained or not ordained look to His word; otherwise please be careful dragging God's holy name into something that you're not absolutely sure is from Him; it is blasphemous if it isn't.