Can you hear me now? (Part 1)

 

Genesis chapter 1:3 is probably one of the most overlooked historic passages in the Bible. I say that with confidence, because I know that I have overlooked it before as I have read the account of creation.

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." ~Genesis 1:3

Did you catch it? No? Well, I did not either, let's look again, and this time I will underscore what both of us missed the first time. I will underscore what just about everybody missed the first time they saw this.

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." ~Genesis 1:3

This is the first recorded words that God spoke. There is a lot to what He said in the first recorded words, because this is something that Jesus came to earth to say as well.

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." ~Matthew 5:14

Paul put it this way: 

"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:"    ~Ephesians 5:8 

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:5 

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"
 ~ 1Peter 2:9 


This is another thought for another post, but the point I am making in Genesis is that God spoke, and man missed it. You missed it, and I missed it. The fact is, we seem to be very good at missing God's voice in our lives.

This is perplexing because Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." He also said repeatedly in scripture, "He that hath an ear, let him hear." He spoke in parables, and even his disciples missed it many times.

Why is that? I believe that we often make the mistake that Elijah made in 1 Kings 19

"And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?" ~ 1 Kings 19:9-13 

We expect God to speak in the way we understand Him to be. In many cases I believe we have just given up on God's voice in our lives because it has been a long time since we "heard" His voice.

Last week I introduced to this blog the story of Moses in Exodus chapter three. The blog post was entitled, "Hunk a Hunk O' Burnin Love". We looked at God's love resonating to Moses and God's people who were in bondage. God used an unconventional way to speak to His man, and His people.

Let's pick up where we left off on that study.

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."
 ~Exodus 3:2-3

Moses was walking and working when God came to Him. (God will not use a lazy man to do anything for Him other than be an example of what not to do)

Moses was walking, and saw the voice of God before he heard the voice of God. This hit me like a ton of bricks the first time God brought this to my attention.

1.GOD SPEAKS IN MANY WAYS.

I was always taught growing up that God spoke through the preacher at the local church. "Listen up and don't color during the preaching because that is when God is speaking" or "Be sure to be faithful to church, because the time you miss may be the time that God speaks to you." Like the voice of God was a lottery call, you may get it and you might not. I understand that phrases like that are attention getting for a boy, but the problem with that approach is that a boy is what God uses to make a man.

I grew up with that mentality, and I rejected any other "Frequency" that God broadcasted across my airwaves with.

I was in my mid twenties and I was working at a trucking company. I had been given an area of the 250,000 square foot warehouse to oversee. I was honored at the confidence placed in me and was determined to be the best at what I did. The area was new to our company, and I had the freedom to create process and procedure action plans.The only problem was that no one followed them. I was frustrated.

I was also serving as a youth director for a tremendous church, and had a similar situation going on there as well. I poured my heart out to the teens each week, and invested a lot of me into that area as well. I laid out with clarity what God wanted them to "do" and had similar results as at work. I was frustrated.

Then she came . Her name is Charlotte. Her "Assignment" was taking care of the computers in the warehouse. She walked back into the area that I worked and asked me how I was doing. I was busy trying to make people "do" what they were supposed to "do". I was rude, and annoyed when she asked, "Why does God have a preacher working in this area, at this time, and with these types of problems? What is He trying to speak to you about?"
"I don't know Charlotte, I have work to do and don't have the time to talk about this with you." I replied. (Yes, I can be rude too, and no I do not sleep in a three piece suit either)

Then she gave me an Elijah moment.

"Dan, could it be that God doesn't want you to make anybody do anything, He just wants you to show them how to be what He wants them to be. The teens at church are no different than your co-workers, you cant make them do what you want them to do, you just need to help them fix things when they are broken and you need to be willing to be that for them as often as they need you to be that.", with that message she turned and walked away.

I could not believe what just happened. How did she even know about the teens at the church? She spoke, and it resonated with my Spirit. I jumped on the forklift and caught up with her.

"Charlotte, what just happened back there? What did you do to me when you spoke to me?" I asked, thoroughly concerned at this point. She just casually looked up and said, "God used me to speak to you."

God used her to teach me that God speaks in many ways. Over the rest of her "assignment" there, she would teach me about God's voice, and God used her to help me tune in his frequency on the airwaves of my heart.

We are very visual people, and 95% of our communication is through body language. As we read the story of Moses, I love the fact that our personal God revealed his His voice visually to see first if Moses was alert enough to catch it.

Before God spoke to Moses with His voice, He first spoke to Moses with a burning bush.

"And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt"
~Exodus 3:2-3 

How much have I missed because I was not looking to be spoken to? How much have you missed because you have not anticipated God speaking to you?

It takes effort to be alert.

I posted the picture for this blog post that I did because at first glance you see a road sign, but if you look closer at the shadow you see another underlying message.

Do you anticipate hearing from God?

God has been waiting for you to wake up this morning so that He can speak to you! Think about this, of all the things that you could have read right now, He let you read this post. Why?

I want to continue this thought on Wed about the voice of God. How He speaks, and How to "Tune in" to His broadcast. I want to use this story in Exodus three to give you what God allowed Charlotte to give me. I cannot wait until wed!

God's voice has changed my life!


Climbing with you,
~Dan