God Speaks

Wednesday February 25, 2015

One day I had an interesting conversation with a young man. Although he believed that God existed, he didn´t think that He was directly involved in the affairs of humanity - a belief known as deism.

There are times when we wonder where God is in this broken, noisy world. But from Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:8) to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2) to the activities of the early church, we see God consistently involving Himself in the affairs of human beings. 

In the Old Testament, God often spoke to people through the prophets. After years of consistent disobedience, He allowed the people of Judah to be taken captive by the Babylonians (1 Chronicles 9:1), yet He never gave up on them. Instead, He sent - among other prophets - His "watchmen" Ezekiel to speak to the exiles through a series of visions (Ezekiel 1:1-3, 2:1-8, 3:17, 33:7).

The people had been overcome with grief (Jeremiah 8:18-21), for they had lost their homes and were now living in a foreign land as a result of their rebellious, hard hearts. God, however, revealed through Ezekiel that He had not forgotten them (Ezekiel 2:4-5). He remained faithful and reminded them that they would once again be restored (28:25, 39:25-29).

God speaks to us today in many ways : through the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17), His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14; 2 Peter 1:20-21), other people, the natural world (Job 12:7-9; Psalms 50:6, 97:6) and dreams and visions (Job 33:15). God´s plans is to restore all creation to Himself through Jesus (Romans 8:20-24), and He continues reaching out to us today. Let´s remain still and listen for His active voice above the din of this world (Psalms 46:10). - Ruth O'Reilly-Smith

Read
Ezekiel 2:1-7
He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says.' And whether they listen or fail to listen - for they are a rebellious house - they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious."

Job 33:13-18
Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man´s words?
For God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not perceive it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men
as they slumber in their beds,
he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,
to turn man from wrong doing and keep him from pride,
to preserve his soul from the pit, 
his life from perishing by the sword.

Question to Ponder
How might God be speaking to you today?
Be aware and strive to see or hear Him as He´s working in and through you.

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue