We jumped into our second message of Tuned In today, and the focus was on how God speaks to His people! Have you ever wondered why God speaks? Let’s explore this. Remember last week I talked about how people are compared to sheep—they can hear the voice of their shepherd and can distinguish it from other voices. A shepherd speaks to his sheep so he can lead them. Knowing God isn’t about walking into a building called a church; it’s about having communion and relationship, and about allowing Him to lead you! You will find your way to God through His Son Jesus. Matthew 1:23 (NIV) says, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means ‘God with us’).
You can see from Scripture that God speaks to initiate relationship. There was no constantly “open door” to the throne of God before the cross! He also speaks to facilitate friendship. You’d love God if you’d just speak to Him! Exodus 33:11 says, “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (NIV). Another reason God speaks is to give guidance. There might be something in your life right now that God wants to lead you away from, but you’d disagree with Him! Why? Because if you’re doing something, you either think you’re supposed to be doing it or you just want to do it! God also speaks to provide perspective. Never forget 2 Corinthians 5:7, which says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (NIV). This can sound scary, but it means that God guides us with spiritual eyes.
I’ve explored why God speaks. What about how He speaks? “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 (1 Kings 19:11-12, NIV).
This such a beautiful example of God’s love for you. Even through catastrophe, He gently whispers to you. He whispers encouragement. Take a look at Romans 8:16, and remember that your Creator cherishes you. “For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children” (TLB). This is an encouraging reminder when you’re struggling to understand who you are and what your purpose is. There are several other ways God speaks to you, something I’m going to examine later this week. For now, remember that God is not silent, is intentional about when and how He speaks, and will never tune you out even if you try to tune Him out.