God Speaks
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:1-3
The Bible ventures the boldest of claims: God is speaking to you every second of everyday! Through the work of His hands – the created beauty of earth and life – Psalm 19 reminds us that God’s creation is declaring who He is and how gloriously kind He is to His creatures. Hebrews 1 goes a step further, as the author reminds us that God is not simply speaking to us through what He has made but also through His Son – Jesus Christ.
God is not a silent, distant, cold, impersonal mystery; He is speaking, revealing Himself, and inviting you to know Him through what He has made and through the work Jesus has done to rescue us from our sin and brokenness.
A question, then, bubbles to the surface: “If God is speaking, are you listening? What kind of listener are you, anyway?”
Are you a distracted listener? The story is told of President of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt, who had to endure very long receiving lines of visitors to the White House who desired to meet the President, snap a photograph, and exchange a few words of greeting. President Roosevelt complained that in the hours of receiving visitors, very few people really listened to him, or they were so distracted with the experience that they were not very good listeners. He decided to experiment with what quality of listeners he would encounter in one day’s receiving line.
He repeatedly murmured to the various visitors that he murdered his grandmother in the morning. To this shocking confession by the President of the USA, people responded with sentiments like “Marvelous!” or “God Bless You!” or “We are so proud of you. Keep up the good work!” Folks were simply too distracted to hear what he had said. However, the ambassador from Bolivia was in line one day when Roosevelt tried his line out, and the ambassador leaned in close to the President, and replied, “ I am sure she had it coming!” and then moved along. Roosevelt never tried that trick again!
But it raises that question again, “What kind of listener are you?” When you hear the Word of God in the Bible, do you nod your head politely, hear what you want to hear, say thanks, and keep moving on to the next experience or task? Are you distracted by something more exciting, more captivating, and more interesting than the God of the universe communicating with you?
God is speaking, speaking, speaking. He is telling you that you are not alone – that you are designed with beauty and dignity and purpose – that he deeply desires to rescue you from your guilt, shame, fear, and sadness. Open up your ears today. Let His voice ring in your ears and receive the message loud and clear from the God who speaks and tells you of His present, perfect love for you.