Hearing the Voice of God

1Kings 19:9-14 GNB

"There he went into a cave to spend the night.

"Suddenly the LORD spoke to him, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" "He answered, " LORD God Almighty, ... "Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain," the LORD said to him.

"Then the LORD passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but the LORD was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire—but the LORD was not in the fire.

"And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice. "When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

"A voice said to him, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" "He answered, " LORD God Almighty,..."

John 10:2-5 GNB

"The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice." "They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice."

John 10:14-16 GNB

"I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. "There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd."

There are likely millions within the Church who do not believe one can hear the voice of God -- audibly or from within themselves. On one occasion a man said that he had problems with those who claim they hear from God. Personally, I have problems with those who claim they NEVER hear from God.

The Bible from beginning to end is replete with references to variations on "and God said," "the angel said," and "the Holy Spirit said." Yet there is not one reference in the Scripture to indicate this level of communication ever came to an end.

What is happening is these individuals are making up new doctrine out of whole cloth, watering down the Word of God to match their experience or lack of it. Yet adding to or taking away from the Word is forbidden IN the Word.

Some claim that events are how God communicates with people, especially those bad things that happen. These would never be the actions of a loving Father, or a Good Shepherd. He does not play "whack-a-mole" with the sheep, rather he leads and guides them. Would you come running eagerly toward a shepherd who keeps whacking you?

The Lord is always talking. However, for us to hear Him we must be in a state of loving obedience to His commands, striving to become ever closer and more like him. Our spiritual ears must be "tuned to the willing band," ready and committed to doing what he tells us in that still, small voice.

Be wary of ever even nodding your head in agreement when someone refers to "mother nature" or a disaster being an "act of God." No one and no thing may ever be elevated in our esteem to the level of a god other than the one true triune God.

The Father, Jesus of Nazareth and Holy Spirit are separate, yet one in 100% unity. As an imperfect example, I am a spirit; I have a soul; I live in a body. At physical death I will slip out of this body as a hand out of a glove. Yet very soon I will be reunited with my "upgrade" -- perfected body forever.

God does not cause natural disasters (until the final judgment of this world). However, with continual rebellion He does upon occasion pull back His hedge of protection ("You don't want me? This comes with the package."). Before He allows utter destruction His representatives are withdrawn, as with Noah and his family before the flood and Lot and his daughters before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Having said that, there are some areas of America that should be grateful the believing Christ-followers are still among them. If you see them being removed or leaving en masse without much warning, it might be time to relocate yourself... quickly.