When You Wonder if That Voice is His…
Last night Lizzy asked me if I had ever “heard God’s voice in my ears.” I smiled at the distinction made by this child who was once the proud owner of special ears. I confessed that I’d never heard God’s voice audibly and admitted that I was afraid I’d fall flat if God’s voice ever did thunder in my ears rather than trickle into my heart.
While I have never heard God’s voice in my ears, I treasure His whispers to my soul. I used to believe I needed to master some complex formula for hearing from God, but I am discovering that growing familiar with God’s voice is not unlike the voice recognition we develop with the people we love here on earth. The key is in our relationship with the speaker in question. In the end, the real question in hearing from God is not-“How do you know it’s Him?” but “How well do you know Him?
One winter’s day a friend and I met for lunch at McDonald’s. Our plan had been to sit and chat while my children entertained themselves on the indoor play structure. Unfortunately every mother in town must have had the same idea on that particular day. By the time we had finished our lunch, a noisy crowd of preschoolers moving through the plastic tunnels and slides had swallowed up my two youngsters. In the midst of refreshing “grown-up talk,” I heard a high-pitched cry.
“Mommy! Mommy!” My ears instantly tuned to the small voice. My eyes scanned the area from where the sound had come, but it was impossible to see anything through the opaque tubes.
“That’s Lizzy,” I told my friend.
“How do you know?” she asked skeptically. “There’s gotta be two dozen kids up there.”
“But that’s her,” I said resolutely as I flipped off my shoes and awkwardly began to maneuver my way through the stuffy kid-sized tunnels. Sure enough, as I followed the desperate voice, I found my normally brave two-year-old daughter hovering at the top of the play structure. After some soft words of assurance, Lizzy spiraled down the twisty slide with her breathless mom following closely behind.
While I would not have recognized the cries of my best friend’s child, I could quickly pick out my daughter’s voice above the crowd. Why? Because our lives are so intertwined. I held her as she squealed her first sounds of life, strained to make sense of her happy baby babble, and rejoiced at the first words that rolled off of her toddler tongue. Her voice has become a regular part of my days. Similarly, my sureness in recognizing the Lord’s voice has evolved because of the intertwining of my life with his. Just as my “mommy ears” have grown sensitive to the cries of my children, so have my spiritual ears become attuned to the voice of my Savior.
It seems too obvious to state, but the more I know Christ, the more I recognize his voice above all others. Christ explained this simple principle in the tenth chapter of John. “I am the good shepherd,” he said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me… My sheep listen to my voice…and they follow me (v 14, 27).” As my relationship with the Lord has grown, I have realized that the real question of recognizing God’s voice is not “How do you KNOW it’s him?” but rather,“How WELL do you know him?”
The Overflow: Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud,“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”-Mark 9:7
The Overflow: Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud,“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”-Mark 9:7
Oh, I’d love to hear more about that audible voice. I, too, have a few friends who hear Him “in their ears.” I love how He tailors how He speaks to all of us based on our individual needs. Thanks for stopping by today!
I have heard God’s audible voice. It was at a time in my life when I’d backslid, and I needed that clear Fatherly instruction. But I’ve also heard that still small voice, as well.
I love this post!