Are You Hearing From God?
Having lived in various regions of the country and having traveled throughout the world, I have experienced a myriad of pronunciations of the English language. In my native Minnesota, we exaggerate the vowels especially the o’s (“Don’cha know?”). In Arkansas we have all kinds of expressions that confused me at first. How is it that y’all can be used as both a singular and a plural? In Virginia, where I went college, people would drop their r’s in certain words. In other places I’ve traveled I have almost needed subtitles to understand what someone is trying to say. The language might have been English but I could not make sense of the sounds I was hearing.
I’m grateful that God does not speak in a way that is difficult to discern like some of the accents I have mentioned. Psalm 29:3-4 says that “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic.” God does not stutter nor stammer. He does not mumble or speak incoherently. God’s voice is powerful and strong.
First, God’s Word is clear. God’s will is not a mystery we have to search out to find at the ends of the earth. God has revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus and in Scripture. This doesn’t mean we know everything we would like to know but it means we know what God desires for us to know. It means we can know Him.
Second, God’s Word is powerful. Sometimes we mistakenly convince ourselves that powerful preaching or teaching holds the key to life change. Rhetorical flourish and homiletic prowess do not possess the potency of God’s Word. This isn’t to say preachers and teachers should cease trying to engage their audience. However, we cannot forget that only God’s Word has the power to change lives and circumstances. God’s Word will be accompanied by God’s Spirit and thus with God’s power. To the degree that we neglect God’s Word we ensure ineffectiveness in His work.
A passage like this also makes us ask the question, am I experiencing the power of God’s Word in my life? If I am not hearing from God, that probably means that the problem is with me as the listener rather than God as the speaker. Perhaps I am letting other noise drown out God’s voice in my life. Or perhaps I am tuning out God’s voice and ignoring it by living in disobedience and habitual sin. Additionally, am I giving the Word of God proper place in my life? If God’s Word is this powerful, surely it is worth my time to read and study and meditate on it.