When God Speaks

In the beginning, God spoke, and everything came into being:

Light, stars, oceans, vegetation, flying birds, creeping reptiles, and warm-blooded mammals (Genesis 1).

“God spoke into the nothing and it became something. Chaos heard it and became order; darkness heard it and became light…. The said accounts for the so. The so is the said put into the continuous present.”
—A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 71

This is our God—the One who speaks, and everything listens, obeys, and falls into order.

Except us.

God speaks, and we rebel.

God loves, and we reject.

God calls out, and we plug our ears.

The voice of God is the most powerful force known to humanity. Yet rather than worship Him for it, we often seek to understand and harness it for ourselves. Rather than being moved to awe and faith, we are moved to examine, investigate, and discover how He does it.

“Our thought habits are those of the scientist, not those of the worshiper.”
—A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 73

We want to explain more than we want to adore.

How can we hear the voice of God today?

First, the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer, nudging, correcting, revealing, and teaching within the heart. We must not forget this great gift and Helper.

Second, the voice of God has been recorded in Scripture. We must continually look to the Word of God to teach us more about the person of God and to help us recognize His voice.

Do you open the Bible expecting God to speak to you through it?

Hebrews 4:12 states:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Bible is not merely a classical relic to be studied in literature classes. It is the Word of God, and it calls for a response each day from those who have committed themselves to following God’s lead.

“Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, “Speak, for thy servant heareth.” Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy Voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking Voice. Amen.”

Here, There, Everywhere

Here, There, Everywhere

Jacob is an interesting figure in the Old Testament. He is the second-born son of Isaac, and his name is associated with the idea of grasping the heel or supplanting another. Deception characterizes much of the first half of Jacob’s life as he takes both the birthright and the blessing that belonged to his brother.

Yet Jacob is later renamed “Israel,” a name connected with striving with God. Through Jacob, twelve sons are born who become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. Through Jacob—now Israel—God builds His chosen nation to be a light to the surrounding nations.

I bring up Jacob today because, in Genesis 28:16, he declares what we often miss:

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

The Lord is in this place.

Or better yet, the Lord is in every place.

The Lord is where you are reading this right now, and He is also where a hundred other people may be reading it. The Lord is there. The Bible tells us over and over again that there is nowhere we can go where the Lord is not.

The universal presence of God is a fact; however, my awareness of it often wavers.

I live as though God is absent.

I pray as though God is unaware.

I worry as though God is not with me.

God is here. There. Everywhere.

There is no place where God is not.

Jesus speaks of having faith like a child, and I think this is one place where we can learn from children. A child may find it easier to accept the universal presence of God than adults who have become preoccupied with distance, commutes, and hiding places.

A child freely accepts what an adult may forcefully debate. This is not necessarily because of ignorance, but because of trust.

Why would God not be everywhere?

Why would I want to worship a God whom I could outsmart, hide from, or trick?

“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Today, I encourage you to ask God to make you more aware of His presence in the ordinary places you encounter. God is at your desk, in your kitchen, on your walk, and in your bedroom.

While we often try to hide in the bushes like Adam and Eve, God continues to call out to us while knowing exactly where we are.

God is here.

You are not alone.

You cannot hide.

God still desires you.

“O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen.”

Can we know God?

Can We Truly Know God?

Think about it.

Can we know what we cannot see?

Most often, we consider what we can see to be real and doubt the existence of what is not visible or tangible.

That makes God a difficult concept for many people. Our best attempt at understanding Him often begins with the inference that something must have created this world—and perhaps that Creator is still present.

Yet the Bible says things like this over and over again:

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
—Psalm 34:8

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived… in the things that have been made.”
—Romans 1:20

The Bible argues that we can know God through both visible evidence and spiritual realities.

Yesterday, I asked, “How would your life look different if you regularly dwelt in the presence of God?”

Today, the question takes one step back: What would happen if you truly knew that God is real and reliable?

This question is like asking, “What if you knew the exact day and time of your final breath?” Would it change how you spend today?

I think we would all live with a little more urgency and purpose.

The same applies to God. What if we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real, that He is good, and that He has prepared a place for us that dwarfs any good we experience here?

Would it be easier or harder to pray? Would you want more or less time in worship? Would you be willing to obey, sacrifice, and surrender more as a result?

I believe most of us would agree that our lives would be more Christlike if we knew for certain that God is real.

If that is the case, then what do you believe?

Are you convinced that God is real and reliable?

Are you confident in the hope of forgiveness and eternity?

If so, why do we not live with that same confidence and urgency?

I do not say this to browbeat you, but to exhort both you and me—yes, I am completely in need of this message as well—to live for God each and every day and to prioritize our relationship with Him above everything else.

This is not easy, but I hope it becomes the mission of my life.

What about you?

“O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen.”

Never the Same

“The church is famishing for want of His presence.”
—A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 36

Throughout the book quoted above, Tozer argues that the church—Christians at large—does not seem particularly interested in God. We do not care deeply enough about being with Him, knowing Him, or following Him. We are content with salvation while having little desire for a relationship with the One who saves us.

What would our lives look like if we regularly encountered the presence of God?

For Abraham, it meant trusting for twenty-five years in a promise that seemed impossible.

For Moses, it meant that his face shone so brightly it had to be covered because, after being with God, he was changed.

For David, it meant praising God while enemies sought to kill him at every turn.

For Hosea, it meant redeeming his unfaithful wife because he understood something of God’s great love.

For the disciples, it meant leaving everything they had and everyone they knew to follow this new rabbi. Furthermore, following Jesus cost many of them their lives, yet they believed He was worth it.

When we encounter Jesus, we are never the same.

When we come to realize that God is all-knowing, always present, all-powerful, and always loving, it changes us. Furthermore, we have access to this God whenever and wherever we are.

Hebrews 4:16 states:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

At the death of Jesus, the literal curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two. The barrier that symbolized restricted access to the presence of God was torn apart. This was not simply a sewing problem in Jerusalem; it was a declaration that, through Jesus, people can now draw near to God.

We no longer need a human priest to enter God’s presence on our behalf, for Christ Jesus has become our eternal mediator.

Not only did God come to us through Jesus, but God also dwells within believers through the Holy Spirit.

What would your life look like if you regularly lived in the presence of God?

“Lord, how excellent are thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man. Show us how to die to our selfish desires, that we may rise again to newness of life. Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as thou didst rend the veil of the temple. We would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with thee in daily experience here on this earth, so that we may be accustomed to the glory when we enter thy heaven to dwell with thee there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Priorities

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

“True brilliance rarely needs to be announced.”

This quote came up in the show Rooster, and the person being consoled by it hated it. His rebuttal reflects our thoughts exactly: “But I want to be told I am brilliant!”

I have spent much of my life trying to be impressive. I have used grades, degrees, clothing, the beauty of my wife, the behavior of my child, and many other things to make myself appear impressive.

We all want to be impressive.

Sadly, in the pursuit of impressing others, we can forget to be impressed by God. What we accomplish on a small scale, God does on an incomprehensibly greater one. Nothing I could ever accomplish could compare with the creation of the world, the placement of the stars, or the ordering of the seasons. I could never split the sea, multiply food, walk on water, or bring the dead to life.

My accomplishments pale in comparison with my Creator!

Rather than clinging to God as the source and giver of all good things (James 1:17), I have bought, hook, line, and sinker, the lie that this world can bring true and lasting happiness, comfort, and peace. I have trusted what rusts and rots to satisfy the place God created only for Himself.

No wonder I am left empty, exhausted, and underwhelmed.

When I come to the end of myself, I realize that I am not all that bright or brilliant—one episode of Jeopardy! reveals that. As I seek to grow in Christlikeness day by day, one of the greatest barriers I face is letting go of my desire to impress.

Daily, I must fight the urge to be arrogant, prideful, or envious. Daily, I must choose to empty myself of my obsession with the things of this world so that I can be filled by the One who created the world.

What are you prioritizing over God?

How are you trying to be impressive at the expense of being impressed by God?

Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys.
I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.
Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen