Music has given me much joy through the years and I’m pretty good at identifying singers of old standards or early rock n’ roll. Being able to recognize someone’s voice is a great way to bore all your friends. “Who’s singing that?” I’ll say. They don’t care, of course, but I give the right answer and it fills me with a certain amount of pride. In the game of life it’s not all that important to be able to recognize someone’s voice – unless it is the voice of God.
People tell me they hear God’s voice all the time. God tells them to do this or God tells them to do that. I’m skeptical. Sometimes it seems like they are not really listening for God’s voice to guide them, but to put a stamp of approval on what they have already chosen to do. In that case you can get God’s voice to tell you anything you want to hear. And you can always blame God if it doesn’t work out. After all, he told you to do it!
What Does God’s Voice Sound Like
Hearing God’s voice is a tricky proposition. What exactly does it sound like? The Bible says God’s voice sounds like…
- …a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12 “And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” (NKJV)
- …thunder. Job 40:9 “Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” (KJV)
- …mighty. Psalm 68:33 “To him that rides upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.” (KJV)
- …terrible. Hebrews 12:19 “For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice with a message so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking.” (NLT)
- …many waters. Revelation 1:15 “And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.” (KJV)
- …a trumpet blast. Rev. 4:1 “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me…” (KJV)
Do We Really Want to Hear God’s Voice
In ancient times people were not always happy to hear God’s voice. It was usually telling them to do something they didn’t want to do. Such was the case with Ahab. He wanted to attack the King of Aram. All his advisors knew he had already made up his mind and just wanted God to bless his decision. So they told him what he wanted to hear. “Go for it! You will win.” The prophet Micaiah cautioned him against going.
Ahab never cared much for Micaiah because he always told him the truth. In 1 Kings 22:8 (NLT) he said, “There is still one prophet of the Lord, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” Ahab, like all of us, only wanted to hear support for what he wanted to do.
If we listen closely we may hear God’s voice. However, he may not tell us what we want to hear.
