“Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” (1 Kings 19:11–13)
Does God speak? More importantly, does he still speak? In the New Testament book of Hebrews we read, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) God spoke in the past and He hasn’t changed. So, God must still speak.
In fact, the Bible is a written record of God speaking to us. The Bible begins with God speaking: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1–3)
For six consecutive days, Moses repeats in Genesis 1, “God said” and it was done. Our planet, our home appeared at his vocal command. Land. Ocean. Vegetation. Animals. Sun and moon. All from the mouth of God.
Fast forward to the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, we read “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:16–17)
So, from beginning to end, the Bible shows God communicating with us. Sometimes He speaks through his word, the Bible. At other times He communicates through our experience. Sometimes His voice is very natural, and at other times supernatural.
Our challenge is not a lack of God speaking but learning to listen. Like Elijah, we have to listen closely to hear a whisper. Listening is the key…setting aside distractions and hurry and busy.
We’ll dig into the topic of hearing God this Sunday with my new series, “Vox Dei – the Voice of God.” See you in church!
