The person quite agreed:

² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; ³ seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ⁴ For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. ~~2 Peter 1:2-4 (NASB95)

Absolutely, he said — Scripture tells us everything we need to know about God. In that respect, he said, we need no further revelation. Most definitely, we can affirm the sufficiency of Scripture. But he clung to the popular idea that God speaks to people directly, giving personal guidance on decisions like which car to buy or whether to change jobs. In his mind, Christians can’t make these types of decisions unless the Lord speaks to them specifically. The thought that God speaks only through Scripture was simply unthinkable.

As I contemplated his position, I realized that this person cared more about having God talk about relatively inconsequential details of his life than about knowing Who God is and how to honor Him. Scripture wasn’t enough for him because it focuses on the Lord rather than on our daily lives.

Of course our Heavenly Father cares about our basic needs, including our cars and our jobs. As Christians, we are His children, and therefore He promises to provide for us.

²⁵ “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ~~Matthew 6:25-33 (NASB95)

Jesus didn’t say to seek a personal revelation from God telling us what to purchase at the grocery store or Macy’s. No. He instead assured us that our Heavenly Father knows that we need food and clothing. He also knows that we need transportation to jobs that enable us to legally obtain that food and clothing. He is by no means indifferent to the practical aspects of our lives.

But Jesus concluded this portion of His sermon by directing us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness before focusing on even our essential needs. As we grow in our knowledge of Him and His priorities, we learn how to apply Scriptural principles to decisions that we must make. We consider our budget, our family size and so forth to choose a car that meets our needs in ways that allows us to use our money wisely. Will that fashionable car put us in too much debt? Will that job interfere with family and church priorities, and will that employer ask us to compromise Christian values? The better we understand God’s Word, the easier it is to discern His will for us.

Of course we wish the Holy Spirit would just come out and tell us to buy that Buick or take that job at the Public Library. Who wants the difficult work of studying the Bible regarding personal responsibility in decisions? For too much of my adult life, I expected God to give me signs or speak through my thoughts to let me know what He wanted me to do, so I definitely understand the desire to have personal words from Him. If He would just get out His megaphone, things would go much more smoothly!

But let’s return to Matthew 6:33. When we concentrate on cars, jobs and other matters of this life, how much thought do we give to how those cars and jobs would benefit His kingdom? In fact, are we more concerned about cars and jobs than about reflecting His holiness or sharing the Gospel? Jesus will provide our transportation and employment as we’re faithful to obey those things than He commands in His Word.

Have you exhausted everything the Lord has spoken in Scripture? I surely haven’t! Until we manage to do so, I see no reason for Him to speak further. Do you?