The Voice of God

       “The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks 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 came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” -1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV)

There are so many times in a Christian’s life when they wonder about the voice of God. How are we supposed to hear it? Why, if we have the same Holy Spirit as the prophets, do we not hear the thunderous voice from the sky and clouds? Is He even there? Were they literally just hearing thunder in clouds back in the Bible and everyone was high from a lack of food? Is it a lack of faith on our parts that inhibits us from the voice of God?

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” –Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

Elijah knew how to discern the presence of God. Most of us would assume that some sort of tornado, or an earthquake, or a fire would definitely be God speaking to us, but God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper.

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;’” –Psalm 46:10a

“Be still,” in this verse comes from the Hebrew “rapha,” which means to be weak, to let go, or to release.

Just as God can only meet with a humbled heart, He can only speak to a surrendered heart. I believe this is the reason it seems so often that God is trying to break us.

So what are we supposed to take from that? It seems like God wants us to be these broken, crawling things in a constant state of groveling and austerity. That would totally suck. But, thank God, that’s not at all what He’s going for. Paul understood this well and, I think, painted a very helpful picture for us.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:9-10

It’s not that we need to be sadists. Let’s get real: God’s all about being happy. The point of all of this is that it’s not on us: it’s on Him. If we are in full surrender, then He can take full control, and then we can be fully happy.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” –Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

            The majority of the time we are miserable simply due to the fact that we are trying to be in control. God’s goal is not to break us; it is to show us that we are already broken. An all-knowing God does not send us tests and trials so that He can find out what is in our hearts. He sends them to us so that we might find out. Our response to failures and mistakes is what is important to God.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we clam we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” -1 John 1:8-10 (NIV)

            When will we stop viewing God as our punisher? When will we realize that it is we who are punishing ourselves and allow God to be the savior and redeemer that He truly is? Stop trying to do God’s job for him.

 “He must become greater; I must become less.” –John 3:30 (NIV)

There is an idea Buddhism called Nirvana, which literally means to “turn out the light.” It revolves around a complete dissociation from “reality.” Like all Dharmic religions, Buddhism has the belief that everything on this world is merely an illusion and the true enlightenment, Nirvana in Buddhism, will allow us to join with that unity and even leave the illusion of self behind.

There is a similar idea when it comes to God, in the sense that all life, all love, and all truth comes from him.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” –John 1:4 (NIV)

The huge difference is that we, through our submission to God, turn the light on, not off.

We’ll hear God’s voice when we surrender completely into Him. We’ll hear it in the laughter, in a tear, in the quite moments. We’ll know his gentle whisper even after the winds and earthquakes and fires, and we may even hear it loud as thunder if we dare enter the cloud of his presence. For now, though, we surrender everything to him. We let go, we collapse, we fall…we truly fall in love: we fall into Him.

            And here is the simplest and most difficult instruction that I will ever give: let go, be weak, and give up. You are lost. Let God take over.