"We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them." Acts 14:15
Praying Christians are at times concerned about the seeming silence of God. “Why don’t we hear His voice?” Perhaps He has been speaking to them all the while, even shouting, but they can’t hear Him because they aren’t tuned in properly.
An English writer commented that the Cistercian religious order kept silence, hoping to hear the voice of God speaking to them through silent days and nights. All the while they heard, says the writer, “the soft singing of the waters, the whisperings of the river grass, the music of the rushing winds.” Is it not true that God speaks to us through the sounds and sights of nature? To Elijah, isolated in the desert, God spoke in a whisper, a thin, small voice, perhaps resembling a soft wind (see 1 Kings 19:9-13).
God speaks through His marvelous, majestic works in nature, as the psalmist exclaims: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). Saint Paul said: “The living God, who made heaven, earth, and sea and everything in them … has not left Himself without testimony" (Acts 14:15, 17). He states that God has revealed to us (in nature and in history) His “invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20).
Does God still speak? The psalmist writes: “Day after day they [God’s mighty works] pour forth speech (Psalm 19:2). It is a speech in which God reveals Himself as the all-powerful, all-wise Maker of heaven and earth.
But God has much more to say to us. In Jesus Christ, His Son, He reveals His love and saving grace to sinners. God has once for all spoken to us through His Son, who is therefore called the Word, by Saint John: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). This Son, crucified for our sins, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. But His message is still heard—the Gospel. It is proclaimed from the pages of Holy Scripture; whenever we hear it or read it, we hear the voice of God, who speaks to us through the prophets and apostles. Are you hearing this voice?
PRAYER: Lord God, open my ears and heart so that I may hear Your Word and rejoice in my salvation in Christ Jesus. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 23-25 Ephesians 5:17-23
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