Do You Recognize His Voice?

Psalm 29:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Have you ever wondered what the voice of Jesus sounded like? What did He sound like when He spoke to His disciples? When He healed blind man? Raised Lazarus from the dead? Healed the leper? The Bible tells us that he was a gentle man. We usually think that meant He was soft spoken and a quiet-natured man, but there were times our Lord spoke with great volume and passion. I assuredly know one thing – when we hear God’s voice, we should definitely listen!

So let’s think about it. There were no microphones or loud-speakers when Jesus spoke to the five thousand near the Sea of Galilee. It is the only miracle that Jesus performed which is described in all four Gospels (Matt. 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6).  If you have ever been in a large crowd, then you know how noisy five thousand people must have been! I personally struggle in a cafeteria or restaurant due to the background noise. And goodness knows when a baby or two cries during church service, sometimes it seems SO loud to those in the service. I was in a church meeting of about 700 members not too long ago – just the chatter before service was quite loud!

When Jesus spoke to the 5,000 - there would have been hundreds of people hundreds of feet away. In a traditional arena, people could not possibly of heard the average speaker. It would have taken a miracle for all to hear, and I’m sure they all did hear each and every word. No one missed out on what He had to say that day!  Psalm 29:3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.

It is my opinion that Jesus’ voice is whatever the Believer needs it to be, for whoever needs to hear it. There are no words that can truly illuminate and describe His voice, but the Christian knows it when He speaks to you. Sometimes it is a tug at the heartstrings, a pitter patter of the heart, quiet thoughts in one’s head, or that still small voice that speaks so clearly. His voice is recognizable to His children. Just like a shepherd and his sheep – they recognize the voice of their master! Likewise should the Christian, listen and recognize our Master!

Examine your heart ~ Do you say "Yes Lord, I hear You”… or do you pretend not to hear? Do you secretly avoid listening to His voice because you’re not ready to let go of a specific hurt or bitterness? Sometimes I contemplate the sadness in His voice when He says: "There my people sit, wearing the varnish off of all the church pews, while the harvest fields are ready, and still they sit.”  Or maybe you ignore Him when He says, “It’s time to forgive.”  

How does the Believer know what He is saying? Recognize His Voice! Know that He does not confuse! Know that His voice is a voice of love. Of mercy. His voice will supersede your own desires and thoughts, if you allow it. If you fix your eyes upon Jesus, that intuitive voice comes from Jesus. If you fix your gaze upon some desire of your heart, the intuitive flow comes out of that desire of your heart.

One pastor says, "To have a pure flow you must foremost become still, and secondly, you must carefully fix your eyes upon Jesus." (Have I said that enough? Fix your eyes on Jesus!) Again I will say, quietly worshiping the Master, and then receiving out of the stillness that follows quite effortlessly permits us to hear the voice of God. (What a blessing!)

So, I ask…What has He shared with you today? Did you recognize His voice?

Look UP my friends!