Are you listening?

Our God is an amazing God. Open your eyes. Take a breath of fresh air. Enjoy a good night’s rest. Quote Scripture as a reminder of His provisions. Bask in the honor of God simply speaking to us. Wow! What a great God we serve. 

I want to revisit one of the items I touched on in a recent sermon, “The Consequences of Our Sin,” from 2 Samuel 13:1-22.  One of the consequences of our sin is we listen carelessly to the Word. Sin skews our perception and causes us to see God differently. We proclaim our allegiance to God but fall short in fully reaching our intended goal. (Don’t worry, it happens to all of us.) God’s Word, however, remains true. God’s message that He unequivocally relays to us is precise and poignant. God still speaks today, primarily in 3 different ways. 

First of all, God speaks to us through His Word. He has since time began. Literally. Genesis 1:3 begins, “Then God said…” From the dawn of Creation, we have a loving picture of the Creator God extending His hand to help begin time and space. All throughout Genesis 1, we have the words, “Then God said…” Don’t miss this:  God made a way to the world through His audible voice. God speaking, however, is not always words of blessing as we find in Genesis 3:9. God calls to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam and Eve had sinned and were hidng from God (and His voice). This time, God’s words were those of judgment and condemnation. 

On to Exodus 3:4 where Moses is before the burning bush. God exclaims, “Moses, Moses.” From this expression, Moses knew the beckoning call of God. Isaiah, also, was aware of God speaking to him through His Word. Isaiah 55:11 reads, “So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void.” God’s Words are different from ours. Our words stop. God’s Word never stops. God’s Word is valuable to us, and He desires to sustain our every breath. Since every word of God is “pure,” we can rest knowing that each time we inundate ourselves with His Word, we are taking in the pure and holy Word into our lives. 

Second, God speaks to us through His Spirit. 1 Kings 19:12 describes His words as a “small voice.” The small voice of our Creator manifests itself into the mighty, powerful calling of God and brings about our need for response. Romans 10:17 informs, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” God does not stop there. The Spirit guides our thinking, causes our mental capabilities to grasp God’s truth, then directs our faculties to do God’s truth. The Holy Spirit will teach us what to say; then, it is our responsibility to perform each God-given task. 

Third, God speaks to us through our circumstances. This avenue is noticeably last in our discussion because it is the least likely of ways in which God speaks. I hear people ask, “Why doesn’t God just tell me the answer?” He already has – through His Word. Appealing to this may make us sound spiritual, but generally connotes a spirit of laziness from within us.  We are too lazy, too apathetic to make any effort in knowing the person and will of God, and we need human "signs" to discern His will to man. Regardless, God does sometimes reveal Himself in and through our circumstances, but it is often after we have exhausted our search through His Word and His Spirit. 

Jonah, in his rebellion against God, discovers this circumstantial way first-hand. God says, “Go to Nineveh and preach repentance.” Jonah rejects God’s message and charts his trip the exact opposite geographic direction. God uses extraordinary means (in the gulp, chew, and spew of a big fish) to make His will known to
Jonah. When God-led circumstances occur, ask yourself 2 questions. “If there anything in my life to hinder God speaking to me through His Word or His Spirit?”  “What is the Lord telling me through these circumstances?” These are two guards which can be helpful as we sense His direction through circumstances. Make sure your circumstances always align with the leading of the Scriptures and the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

God is alive and still desires to speak to us today! Think about it. The great God who designed the moon to orbit the earth, who dug out the seas and gave the ocean purpose, desires to speak with us on an every-minute basis. What a great God we serve!