The Voice - Bible Edition

I think we can all agree that there are so many voices clamoring to gain our attention.  It is hard to hear the still small voice of God amidst the loud voices of the world.  In Today's post, The Voice - Bible Edition, we will find out just how to crowd out the voices of the world to hear the still small voice of God.

The Bible Where God's Voice Speaks

If your like me and my family, you probably have lots of Bibles in your home.   What a blessing it is to have access to many Bibles where in some areas of the world, the Bible is forbidden.

I have personally used many different Bibles through the many seasons of my life. Before becoming a believer, a neighbor gave me The Living Bible.  Soon after coming to know the Lord, I used the Women's Devotional Bible.  As I started to crave a deeper and deeper study of the Word, I used the Thompson's Chain Reference Bible.   Once I was solid in my doctrinal understanding, I moved onto the Life Application Bible.  And now, in this older and maybe a bit wiser season, I am using a Journaling Bible.  

Many different versions of the Bible conveying One voice, the voice of God.  

The Voice of God Tells of His Great Love For His Children

I remember when I first became a believer, hearing the Bible described as God's love letter to His children.   And indeed it is!  In the pages of Sacred Writ, we learn of our precious Savior who took on human flesh for the ultimate purpose of suffering and dying in our place, to satisfy the penalty our sins deserved, so that we might have everlasting life.  "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God would die for me!"

Not only is the Bible a love letter, it is the means by which we learn about the character of God. Story after amazing trust-building story describing our strong, powerful, faithful, steadfast, patient, loving, and unchanging God.  

The Voice of  God comes with Great Power

When the Lord inspired man on what to write in the Holy Scriptures, He also used word pictures to help our finite minds grasp with our senses an infinite and eternal God and Savior.

God has been physically described as one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace... Revelation 1: 13-15a

...a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze.  Daniel 10:5

And then there is the description of God's voice...  

I don't like loud noises.  It all started when I was a little girl.  My mom can tell you many stories about me and loud noises.  

Here are just a few...

When I was very little, my  mom and I walked by a firehouse when the siren went off and I apparently burst out crying, frightened out of  my wits.  

Every summer when the carnival would come to town, I would dread the night of the fireworks. 

And thunderstorms, forget about it!  I would physically shake in bed with every loud crash.  {It didn't help that our house had been hit by lightening adding to my fear of loud noises!}

I will admit, I actually wonder what it would be like for me, if the Lord were to return during my lifetime, whether I could handle the noise!   

God's Word describes the voice of the Lord in terms of being very loud.

Listen closely to the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.

Job 37:2

And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder

Revelation 14:2

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;...  The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire...

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness... The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth

and strips the forests bare,

Psalm 29:3-5; 8-9

God's voice has also been described like the sound of a multitude.  Daniel 10:6

and like the roar of many waters. Revelation 12:15b

God's voice is full of great power.   His mighty voice, which breathed every word of the Holy Bible into existence, with account after account, and promise after promise, assures us of His great love and proves our ultimate security.

The Voice that is Contrary to God

Why then do we so often choose to listen to the voice of Satan rather than the voice of our loving Father.

There were only three times in Scripture where the actual words of Satan were recorded...

First Satan speaks to man...

Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 3:1-5

{Satan tries to cause Eve to doubt God.}

The second time Satan speaks directly to God...

Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.  Job 1:9-11

{Satan tries to cause God to doubt man.}

The third time Satan speaks directly to Jesus

If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”  Matthew 4:3

{Satan tries to cause the Son to doubt the Father.}

Satan's mission is clear...  EVERY time he is sewing seeds of doubt...

Yet we listen to him...

I recently came upon the list below, and was so struck by the truth of it...

Too often, we get pulled into the chaos of all the manifestations of allowing Satan's voice to drown out the still small voice of God...

It is exhausting to be discouraged, to worry and obsess, to feel rushed and pushed, to feel frightened and confused, and then at the end of the day, to condemn ourselves for feeling this way.

And it's all not necessary!

We have an ever-present Helper; One who is faithful and steadfast, always whispering in our ear, "this is the way, walk in it",  reminding us of His precepts, telling us of His great promises, and speaking peace over our hearts; ALL through His precious Word - the very voice of God!

Hear the Voice of God

How do we let the Lord's voice thunder in our ears so that it is the ONLY voice we listen to?

By committing God's Word to memory.  Intentionally setting out to memorize Scripture.

One of the best ways to combat Satan from sewing seeds of doubt and temptation into our lives, is to identify those areas of weakness that are a struggle.   Once identified, find Scripture verses and promises of God that speak victory over that weakness.  Keep the list and corresponding promises and Scripture verses in your Bible.  Commit to memorize those verses so that when faced with the besetting temptation or doubt, you will ONLY hear the voice of God which will... 

still you

lead you

reassure you

enlighten you

encourage you

comfort you

calm you

convict you

Psalm 23 is the embodiment of the voice of God speaking peace over our lives.  

Sometimes I think because this Psalm is one of the more quoted, we can lose sight of the great comfort found within its verses.

Meditate on each verse...  Whatever situation you might find yourself in now, I promise, you will feel great comfort and calm wash over you as you let the Words of your Shepherd sink in.   My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

 your rod and your staff,

 they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

 all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

Psalm 23

{For encouragement on how to practically experience calm and peace through Psalm 23 please head over to my post Day Dreaming which you can read HERE.}

For posts about the emotional and spiritual benefits of spending time in the Word of God, 

please check out the following posts:

Keeping Our Word

Clean Your Plate!

{For encouragement in those seasons when you don't hear God, please head over to my post, The Mystery of His Silence, which you can read HERE.}

To learn how to practically discern God's voice, click on the following post:

7 Ways to Discern God's Voice

May we all experience the joy of hearing God's voice speaking peace to our souls while the voices of this world fade away...

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