Walking in the Valley A bi-weekly column, featuring one Silicon Valley Christian's (a)musings on life's journey by Barbara Dahlgren

The Sound of God's Voice Column for the weeks of February 16-28, 2009

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Music has given me much joy through the years and I’m pretty good at identifying singers of old standards or early rock n’ roll. Being able to recognize someone’s voice is a great way to bore all your friends. “Who’s singing that?” I’ll say. They don’t care, of course, but I give the right answer and it fills me with a certain amount of pride. In the game of life it’s not all that important to be able to recognize someone’s voice – unless it is the voice of God.

People tell me they hear God’s voice all the time. God tells them to do this or God tells them to do that. I’m skeptical. Sometimes it seems like they are not really listening for God’s voice to guide them, but to put a stamp of approval on what they have already chosen to do. In that case you can get God’s voice to tell you anything you want to hear. And you can always blame God if it doesn’t work out. After all, he told you to do it!

What Does God’s Voice Sound Like?

Hearing God’s voice is a tricky proposition. What exactly does it sound like? The Bible says God’s voice sounds like…

1. …a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12 “And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (NKJV)
2. …thunder. Job 40:9 “Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” (KJV)
3. …mighty. Psalm 68:33 “To him that rides upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.” (KJV)
4. …terrible. Hebrews 12:19 “For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking.” (NLT)
5. …many waters. Revelation 1:15 “And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.” (KJV)
6. …a trumpet blast. Rev. 4:1 “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me…” (KJV)

In ancient times people were not always happy to hear God’s voice. It was usually telling them to do something they didn’t want to do. Such was the case with Ahab. He wanted to attack the King of Aram. All his advisors knew he had already made up his mind and just wanted God to bless his decision. So they told him what he wanted to hear. “Go for it! You will win.” The prophet Micaiah cautioned him against going. Ahab never cared much for Micaiah because he always told him the truth. In 1 Kings 22:8 (NLT) he said, “There is still one prophet of the Lord, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” Ahab, like all of us, only wanted to hear support for what he wanted to do.

Recognizing God’s Voice

How can we recognize God’s voice? John 8:47 tells us if we are of God we hear his voice. As God’s sheep we should be able to recognize his voice (John 10:4-5). We cannot recognize the voice of one we are not close to. Therefore we need to build a relationship with God through prayer and bible study: praying to align ourselves to God’s will and studying to become more like Jesus. We want the very mind of Christ, his wisdom and understanding living in us. If we have that, we will be able to recognize his voice. We know God will only tell us to do things based on principles of loving him and our neighbor.

God’s voice will not tell us to do anything contrary to the biblical principles he has set in motion. He expects us to be able to discern what those are. Galileo said, “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” So think before you say God tells you to…

1. …do anything that doesn’t align with scripture.
2. …cause dissonance in a church.
3. …do anything that doesn’t draw you closer to him
4. …get revenge.
5. …snipe people from a tall building.
6. …anything not based on principles of love.
7. … and so on…

How Does God Speak to Us?

God did speak directly to a few in the Bible, but considering the thousands of years of human history, these events were few and not always pleasant. Moses had to lead the complaining Israelites (Exodus 3:14), Hosea had to marrying a woman of ill repute (Hosea 1:1), Job found out how insignificant he was (Job 40:1), and Paul was struck blind (Acts 22). God may speak audibly to some today, but if history repeats itself (and it does), this would be the exception, not the rule. And it doesn’t happen as often as people would have you believe.

However, God is the great communicator and at no time in history has he remained silent. He speaks to us just as he always has – through…

1. His Word – The Bible is written for our instruction, training, correction, and edification. (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
2. Creation – We see God’s greatness in his creation. (Romans 1:20)
3. Events – Through trials God may be saying, “Learn patience.” Through celebrations he may be saying, “Do not forget me in the good times.” (James 1:2-5)
4. Prayer – Prayer is two-way communication. We ask and God answers. (James 1:5) However God does not always give us the answer we want to hear.
5. Our Conscience – Sometimes an inner voice tells us not to do something. (1 Peter 3:16)
6. Meditation – Slow down. Be still so you can hear God. (Psalm 46:10)
7. Others – Friends can be closer than family at times and a wise man seeks counsel before making decisions. (Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 11:14)
8. And so on…

Sometimes we are so intent in looking for a special sign or revelation that we miss what God says to us daily. The magnificent becomes mundane so we don’t hear what God says through a vibrant sunset, a child’s laughter, a new born baby, ripples in a brook, a field of flowers, a hug from your spouse, a cautious admonition from a close friend, or a scripture we’ve read a hundred times that finally has profound meaning.

God doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear, but he always tells us what is best for us. What he says will draw us closer into a relationship with him, but if we don’t recognize the sound of his voice, we won’t hear what he’s saying.

Be sure to visit this page often to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.