Whispers and thunderclaps

August 24, 2006

By William E. Richardson

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

I’ve never heard God’s audible voice. Yet, He’s spoken to me thousands of times. He speaks to every one of us every day through a number of ways. Let’s take a look at how God speaks to us and three messages He keeps sending.

God speaks to us through the world around us, including nature. The sounds of His voice in this venue envelop us. They’re sounds we recognize, but take for granted. His main message is that He loves us. We hear God’s loving voice in sounds that soothe us.

Every birdsong, every gently flowing brook, every calming whisper of the wind says, “I love you.” We hear God’s loving voice in louder sounds as well. For instance, in the roar of a waterfall and the peel of thunder in a rainstorm. It’s God voicing His love as the constant provider of the water our world needs.

God also tells us He loves us through the voices of others. God’s love shines through in the laughter of a child and every time we hear the phrase “Good job” or other encouraging or helpful words. The very phrase “I love you” from someone else is God using a human’s voice to speak to us. We’re surrounded by the sounds of God’s love. We can’t escape them.

A second way God speaks to us is through inner promptings. It’s His message of guidance. God makes His signals to us as real as the alarm that calls a crew of firemen to service. Like young Samuel in the Old Testament, Christians learn to listen to that message; it may be inaudible to the human ear, yet it speaks clearly to our spirit.

At times, we may sense it as a silence carrying great urgency, like Elijah and other prophets, who relayed with strong conviction what they’d heard. At other times, like Elijah, we may sense God’s voice as a quieter, yet unmistakable presence in a world of many noises. Not for proclaiming to others, but for our personal assurance amid the craziness of other voices and sounds.

God speaks to us most clearly through His written Word, the Bible. Along with the messages already mentioned, God’s message from His Word warns and protects us. The sound of His voice is unmistakable to His followers who read and listen carefully. On page after page, God speaks to us through His words of caution to specific people and to His followers in general. “Adam, don’t eat that fruit.” “Noah, warn your neighbors.” “Israelites, reserve your worship for Me alone.”

In His Word, God alerts us to what to do and not to do as we live to honor Him. He also tells us what to do if we fail to listen and obey. After forgiving the woman taken in adultery, Jesus told her to not return to her sin. Her full freedom came from Jesus’ forgiveness and from her obedience to the rest of His words to her.

God speaks to us in other ways — through other people, through Christian books and songs, through situations we recognize as His hand at work in our lives. Yet, no message, even when we believe it is God’s voice, will contradict His written Word. That should always be the strongest of all voices we hear.

Are you ready to listen for God’s voice in all aspects of your life today? He’s likely already spoken to you. Will you obey?

William E. Richardson is senior pastor of Afton (Iowa) Assembly of God.