Job 37:5
King James Version
5 God thundereth marvelously with his voice; great
things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
God communicates with us in many ways. Sometimes He roars in
such a way that everybody knows He is communicating with us. This happened with
the Israelites at the base of Mount Horeb when God spoke the Ten Commandments out
of fire and thick clouds of smoke. This happened when Christ was on the cross
and darkness enveloped everything as the curtain between the Holy Place and the
Most Holy Place ripped apart from top to bottom.
When God spoke to Elijah after the marvelous appearance on
Mount Carmel, some powerful events occurred in nature. But Elijah recognized
that these were not God’s communications—they were simply sent to see if he was
awake:
1 Kings 19:11-13 And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, “What doest thou here, Elijah?”
God was in the still
small voice. God spoke to Abraham, maybe 4 or 5 times; sometimes only in a
dream. When God speaks to us, it is usually in a still small voice—a voice that
we can choose to ignore because it is so small—maybe to our eternal peril.
There’s an old story,
probably apocryphal, that I’m sure you’ve heard. Everything had gone wrong for
a man. Finally, he said to himself, “Let me see what God wants me to do.” He
opened the Bible at random, put his finger on a text and it read that Judas “went
and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5). “No,” he said to himself “God can’t be
talking to me there.” He closed his Bible and opened it randomly again and
read, “Go and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37). So, he committed suicide.
Consequently, how
does one know whether this still small voice is indeed God’s voice? Or is it
rather a suggestion from our own inner desires? Or, much worse still, is it the
devil making a suggestion?
Isaiah counseled “To
the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20) If it is against the direct commands
in the Bible—it isn’t God speaking. That brings up the question: How do we know whether it is against the
direct biblical counsel?
We need to read the
Bible daily to keep reminding ourselves what the Bible does teach!
Please, Lord,
keep speaking to us, and help us recognize Your voice and do what You are
asking us to do.
