God Speaks

How does God speak to us?

So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD;  but  the LORD  was  not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake,  but  the LORD  was  not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire,  but  the LORD  was  not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. (1 Kings 19:11, 12 NASB)

We pipsqueak humans realize how big and powerful God is and we just naturally expect Him to speak loudly, clearly, and undeniably. That's what it seems Elijah was expecting.

In fact, when disasters of nature happen, many people tend to attribute those awesome acts to God expressing His displeasure with the way humans are acting. God is big, so He has a loud, booming voice and He gets attention--that's what it seems many think.

We know that God can create enough drama to get everyone's attention, but He surprises Elijah by speaking to him like the sound of a gentle blowing.

I don't think this scripture from Isaiah describes a loud, booming voice:

Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. (Isaiah 30:21 NASB)

And there is something about ears that is important:

For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him." (Mark 4:22-25 NASB)

God wants to speak to us, and He wants us to hear. He has a voice, but it's not obvious nor overt. As children learn and respond to the voices of their natural parents, we have to do the same in learning God's voice.

Jesus warns us as we learn His voice, we must be careful to what we listen. There are many voices and sounds that can either drown or distract us from His voice.

Before we go further, His voice may not be something audible. In fact, it usually isn't. What I'm learning is He uses many avenues to communicate to us. He has much more in His command to direct any message He has for us.  I think He rather enjoys employing these supernatural ways of talking to us. He derives great joy when we find His message hidden for us in His delivery method. The more we capture, the more we increase our capacity for more of Him, more of His messages, and the deeper revelation He has hidden for us.

He's been speaking to me in dreams with a lot of symbolism.  Maybe because I'm getting old:

"It will come about after this

That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and daughters will prophesy,

Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions. (Joel 2:28 NASB)

Maybe it's "just because." God's a lot about "just because:"

"In a dream, a vision of the night,

When sound sleep falls on men,

While they slumber in their beds, Then He opens the ears of men,

And seals their instruction, (Job 33:15, 16 NASB)

He's also been using numbers. That's funny because math has never come easy for me, and numbers always escape me, and here He is speaking to me in numbers.

It's beyond coincidence, three 3's or three 4's, and sometimes three 5's make conscious and deliberate appearances in clocks, odometers, signs, many places and multiple times. Numbers have meanings with God; you can't help but realize that when reading the Bible.

And sometimes He punctuates it with a series of four of the same number. That happened yesterday. I stopped my bike to drink water and there were five 5s on the odometer. That message was clear to me because I had dealt successfully with a situation just less than an hour earlier. The fives were his arm around me saying you managed that well.  The number 5 symbolizes grace; four of them mean His grace is more than enough.

He loves us, but also challenges us to go deeper, step higher, and reach further for what He has hidden for us to find.  His messages are one plus. That looks like 1+.  When He speaks, in whatever mode He chooses, there's a little extra to nudge us up, out, and over.

God's a master communicator unlimited in resources to carry His message. He even uses donkeys.  He sometimes even uses people! We need to open ourselves to His multidimensional communication methods. I often say, God has many communication apps and we need to download and learn them.

Just when you think you have it all figured out, He changes it. Those who have gone before me in this mystic adventure all say that's how He works. He keeps it a mystery for us to find what He has hidden for us, so He adds new forms of communication.

Employee surveys and marital difficulty always highlight communication challenges. The natural life is limited, but the supernatural life is steroidal. Communication issues in Heaven are zilch because God takes the lid off.

A relationship with God is fresh, dynamic, exciting, and always 1+ because His desire to relate with us, to tabernacle in us, is greater than our pipsqueak minds can manage. Look at it this way, when Jesus tells us that our heart is where our treasure is, He is also saying that God's heart is set on a treasure--and that treasure is us.

How does God speak to us? It's not that He's not speaking; it's that we need to upgrade ourselves and download some new apps. It's not about limiting God; it's about a self-imposed limit. We block the sound of a gentle blowing by not having our ear app engaged.

Before anyone asks, no, I haven't seen three 6's. That's a different message for sure.

How is God speaking to you?