Morning Devotionals

by Don Emmitte

 

April 19th, 2008

 

"The Sound of God's Voice (Part 1)"

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. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV).

The context of our reading today is from the life of Elijah just after his great victory over the prophets of Baal. He is hiding in the mountains and fearful at the threats of Jezebel. It is a wonderful example of how easy it is to mistake the voice of God. It does sound different in different situations. There are those times when it does sound like the thunder and there are other times when it is a small whisper in our ear. The real question is how do you know one sound from the other?

In one sense, we all have to identify God's voice by ourselves. He speaks uniquely to each of us, and from experience we learn whether we're hearing our own imagination or even the devil's deceptive voice. At the same time, it helps to learn how other believers discern His voice and what prompts them to act on what they've heard. So in the past few months I've conducted an experiment. When people have said, "God told me," I've asked, "How do you know He told you?" The answers have varied. Some people sputtered vague explanations and couldn't offer concrete descriptions. Others described specific signposts and feelings that identified God's voice to them.

Collectively, though, from my experience and theirs, a two-pronged pattern seems common. Sometimes the Holy Spirit impresses a thought upon our minds; sometimes He stirs our hearts. If He speaks to the mind, it's usually a thought that intrudes upon the brain and is markedly different from what we've been thinking about. It possesses a distinct quality that causes us to say, "I wouldn't have considered that myself!" and suddenly gives us enlightenment into people or situations. If the Spirit speaks to the heart, it's often through a nudge that compels us to action, or a sense of restraint that warns us not to move forward. The mind and heart can also synchronize, with a thought that agrees with an inner impression.