Still small voice?

Isaiah 51:7
Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults.

Any one who is a parent, has a parent, or someday may be a parent has heard or said the following words: “Listen to me!” It’s not often that we hear these words in a quiet tone, and being a parent, I know that those of us who speak them certainly aren’t whispering. Why, then, do we assume that God always speaks through a whisper in our lives? I know that it’s commonly taught that God speaks in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12-13), but as far as I know that’s the only instance of His whispering to get someone’s attention.

God called Samuel while he was lying down (1 Samuel 3:3-4), getting ready to sleep; surely He wasn’t whispering at that moment. He spoke to Moses through a flaming bush (Exodus 3:4); that doesn’t seem still and small to me. He spoke to all of us through Jesus Christ, who wasn’t quiet, reserved, still, or small by any means. Christ ate with sinners, touched lepers, raised dead men, yelled at Pharisees, and conversed with rulers. He did all of these things publicly and usually with large numbers of people around Him. Christ was not quiet when He spoke.

Today we have the Bible, the Living Word of God, that “speaks” to us. Is it quiet? Is it still? I guess that depends on who you are and what you’re doing with it. If you walk by the Bible every day and never read it, then it is a still small voice, literally. But, if you pick it up, carry it around, flip through its pages, and read the words, it will call to you, loudly!

Back to the beginning, “Listen to me”. Are we to assume that God is whispering this to us? Just for fun, right now, try it; whisper “Listen to me” and see how ridiculous it sounds. The fact is this: God does speak softly sometimes so that we’ll really focus on what He has to say, but those times are rare. The truth is God knows we’re all a little slow on the uptake and whispering isn’t the best way to get us to pay attention. (Remember, He created us; He knows us!) Most of the time, like a parent, He’s calling, loudly, to get our attention.

When I say “Listen to me!” (actually, yell is more appropriate than say here), it is so I can get my son’s attention to tell him something. Some of the time when I say these words it’s because I’m trying to protect him from something or correct his behavior. But, the truth be known, a lot of times I have to preface “I love you” with “Listen to me”. Odd, don’t you think?

God speaks in many ways, but most often it’s in ways that we’ll instantly recognize. In this case, He’s calling out “Listen to me” and is following it (like the rest of us who speak those words) with something important. First, He clarifies to whom He is speaking. In this case He’s calling out to Christians: those who know Jesus (Righteousness) and in whose heart is written the Law (Jesus, the fulfillment of the law). Then He says what’s on His mind: don’t be afraid.

It’s really a simple message and it’s true from Genesis to Revelation. God never changes. In the Old Testament, He says over and over “Don’t be afraid”; in the New Testament, as Jesus, He says “Don’t be afraid”. He’s not whispering this to you, to me, to us; He’s stating it with authority.

Sure, God has the ability to speak in a still, small voice, and sure, He still does that today, in some cases. But the greatest testimony God ever gave was with a shout, a cry, in a loud and commanding voice, “IT IS FINISHED”. His greatest lesson, His most important speaking engagement was on a cross, where He died for the sins of the world and the restoration of all mankind. Now that speaks VOLUMES!