The Voice of God

Trusting God implies that we know what God wants us to do. That’s not always so clear and it’s not hard to find different interpretations from different people. Where is that clear voice that speaks from another realm like it did for the people in the Bible?

In one story after another, the Bible tells of a God who interacts with people. This interaction typically happens with one person who then charismatically leads or speaks to a larger group. On a few occasions God appears to several people at once but only rarely to a whole crowd of people.

One way God appears is through physical manifestations. God appears as three men who visit Abraham by the oaks of Mamre. In Exodus, Moses encounters God as a burning bush and then later all of the Israelites see God as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the physical manifestation of God, in human form.

A second way that God appears to people is in visions. Isaiah saw a vision of God in the temple, Peter heard God’s voice in a trance-like state and the entire book of Revelation is the story of the vision given to John of Patmos.

The third way that God appears to interact directly with people is by voice. In the Old Testament, prophets would hear God’s voice then take that message out and (in many cases) enact it in order to capture the attention and imagination of the people before telling them what God said. But other people seemed to be in tune with whatever frequency God spoke on. Adam and Eve talked to God daily in the garden as they walked. Moses heard the voice in his prayers. David seemed to speak at intervals with God. In the New Testament the voice of God is heard at Jesus’ baptism and again later at his transfiguration. Paul heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him after being struck blind on the road to Damascus.

In our modern world people who hear voices and have visions are considered to be either under the influence of some chemical stimulant or mentally unbalanced. And yet, ironically, a large number of people in our world put their faith in the visions and messages that were given to people thousands of years ago. Strange.

As an extroverted thinker, my clearest thoughts come when I am in some kind of dialog. I say something and listen to the way it sounds. If no one is present to respond to what I say, I imagine a specific person being there conversing with me.. Then I can state my next thought. Over the course of my life I have imagined conversations with my parents, siblings, teachers and friends. As a pastor I have imagined conversations with members or even committees and leadership teams. These conversations help me clarify and organize my thoughts.

The one exception to this pattern was when I prayed. Throughout my life I had spoken to a God who silently listened to what I had to say. I would say thanks or I would ask for something. I would make a promise or I would say I was sorry. I said these things as if I was writing a verbal letter and when I was finished I would mail it off to the spiritual realms with an, “Amen” and hope that it would be received and given consideration.

Sometime during my first call I began wondering why God no longer spoke to people like he did centuries before. I was searching for direction. Well, to be honest I was searching for specific directions, not just a general direction. I was willing to be obedient, I just wanted to know what the instructions were. No matter how hard I prayed or how long I studied the Bible I didn’t feel that any answers were being given to me. God seemed distant and silent.

Because of the rural setting of this parish I spent a lot of time driving; about 700 miles every month. The time spent in my old Ford pickup driving from place to place was a great time to reflect and meditate, to stitch together sermons and Bible studies and to listen to whatever thoughts wandered through my mind. Driving through the hills and valleys of western Wisconsin one day I was talking at God. I was probably ranting about some issue that upset me, complaining about my lot in life when I heard it: A calm, quiet voice within my head. I don’t recall the exact words but the calmness of the voice evoked a peaceful certainty that everything was going to be all right.

“Is this truly the voice of God?” I wondered, “Or is my mind playing tricks on me?” Maybe it was some other kind of “spirit” that was trying to keep me from God’s true plan. Maybe I was just going crazy. How could I know for sure?

The voice in my head said, “you’ll just have to trust it.” With those words I knew that there was no pre-figuring things out. There would be no way to know for sure one way or the other. Either I was being led on the right path or I was being led down the wrong path. The only way to find out would be to follow and see where it led.