What a fool . . . !

Recently, during one of my classes in apologetics the students and I had a very lively discussion on hearing the voice of God. I am a presuppositionalist—I believe that all men have a sense, instinctively to believe in God. They may not all describe him the same, but all have the concept. That concept alone is enough for the sincere to discover God in His fullness when given the opportunity. Disbelief, I insist is a matter of the heart, not the head.

The psalmist said,

“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God (Psalm 14:1)”

The head has very little to do with belief in God, except to find ways to skirt the issue. The heart, the center of the will, has everything to do with it, however (Romans 1:18-20).

Why is that, you say?

Well, besides being true, it is also scriptural, too, I believe. This brings me to the following consideration. That consideration is simply this: To hear the voice of God, you and I must listen. The problem with most Christians is that they do not listen. Mortimore Adler, an outstanding philosopher of the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions once authored a book called: “How to Speak, How to Listen.” Part of the problem with poor performance for students and others to meet his expectation in class was that they not listen, but by and large they did not even know how to listen. It should not surprise us, either, that poor listeners were unable to articulate their views well, either.

Most of us, know that we must listen. The Christian’s problem is ‘When and how, and where to listen?’ I call these the Big Three of Understanding.

Since this is not a class in apologetics; however, let’s consider the average Christian. The child of God must listen at all times, not just at church, or in a short 15-minute devotional routine. The when and where is at all time under all circumstances—in the bad times, as well as the good. On dark days, as well as the bright ones. In the mud, as well as bathing in a crystal-clear lake. The when and the where is everywhere and at all times. This, is not just a cute play on words, either.

Moses listened in the Sinai desert, not just to the ordinary things—like, the cooing of the desert dove, the chirping of crickets, or even the faint sound of the slithering lizards scaling across the rocks or burring their way into sand; but through the eyes of faith to the voice of the burning bush. Not just to the crackle of the burning stems, but to the voice beyond.

Jeremiah did much the same thing—he watched and listened to the spin of the whirling potter’s wheel, but beyond that, too, intuitively to the voice of God. David, the psalmist, in the same vein watched in silence to the whirls of the galaxy and wrote,

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork (Psalm 19:1).”

Regarding that, I am sure that in a large part David was called a man after God’s own heart because he listened to the voice beyond that spoke volumes that was amplified louder than mere words. We must listen, even when God is silent because God will and most often does speak at the most unexpected times.

Take eccentric Elijah, for instance—sometime soon, take time to reread his life story, and you’ll find out, in case you don’t all ready know that: Boy was he weird! Nonetheless, consider him for a moment.

The Lord spoke to him (How? I am not sure, since the passage is not clear here.) but the author of the book says,

So, [a voice] said, "Go forth and stand on the Mount Horeb before the LORD."

Here he could have gone and just stood. He had obeyed. So, surely that was enough. Fortunately, for him, however, he listened as well. Thank goodness for that, for God had more to say. For scripture says,

And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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. After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?

This was the second time, God asked Elijah what he was doing. However, Elijah kept listening. Elijah listened to the strong wind—God was not there, even though God had just told him to stand precisely where he was standing. Then the prophet listened through an earthquake and fire. Not there, either. Silence. Pure silence, except from the commotion going on around him. The old prophet was a stubborn man, so he even forced himself to listen for God’s voice in the soft blowing of the wind. Following that he stood at the mouth of a cave, thinking perhaps, ‘Well, it’s about time to crawl inside and sleep a little, after all its’ been a long, scary, and spiritually uneventful day. But, to his credit, he listened. Then following the gentle breeze, he heard the voice that launched a spiritual battle that changed the course of history.

The principle of listening is true at all times, in every place, under all circumstances.

The Good Samaritan listened, not through his ears, but through his heart. So, he when out of his way, caring enough to do something. Peter and John listened through compassion, and a sense of ought. This man is cripple, I’ve got the answer, so why not share it? This is what we ought to do. This is what they thought, and this is precisely what they did. So, Peter, in the Name of Jesus, healed the man.

Trouble with many Christians is that they have the answer, but not the sense of ought. Money is never the issue in such cases, selfishness and the lack of a sense of ought is, however. For there is a stroke of kindness that reaches far beyond the pocket book. It emanates right from the inner-court of Heaven, from the very heart of God—and with that a sense of ought, and a voice from beyond. But, not without listening.

What shall I say? What shall I do? Listen, you say? How foolish. What can listening do on a dark day? Can listening move mountains—straighten a crooked path? Turn on fountains? Cause the desert to bloom? Heal a broken heart?

Yes, listening can help do all of this, when you listen to the voice in the now beyond the when and the where and the how.

May God give us the insight to understand the significance.

 JimR_/