Devotional Thought for the Week
The Voice of God
Remember when you were younger and your mother would call your name? Whatever the reason for the summons, the inflections in her voice presented a hint of the type of mood or emotional status she was bringing to the table. A booming voice meant you were probably in trouble; a gentle tone meant she wanted your attention; a questioning inflection meant she’d found something in your room while cleaning it she thought was out of character and the dreaded command “come here right now” or “just wait until your Dad gets home” sent a suggestion of sudden and certain death at an early age. As I began reading Psalm 29 this week I was reminded that the voice of God communicates various messages to us as His children. Warren Wiersbe, a Christian author whom I deeply admire, wrote about this in his book, Prayer, Praise & Promises. This book is a devotional of insights dealing with the Psalms and although this is my third year to comb its pages as part of my daily devotions, each time I read these entries my heart and mind is taught a new concept by the Holy Spirit. I would enjoy sharing one of those finds with you as the devotional thought for this week.
In Psalm 29, beginning with verse 4, descriptive adjectives for the voice of the Lord are provided. We are told that the voice of the Lord is powerful, majestic; His voice can break, make, strike, shake, twist and strip! Now that’s quite an array of adjectives for our Heavenly Father’s voice. But let’s dig deeper into the context of these descriptions. According to verse 3, the voice of the Lord “thunders” over the mighty waters…that’s power, my friends. In those impossible situations when the water is rising and the waves are crashing in from all directions, God is majestic, impressively displaying dignity and grandeur as His voice is heard over the surface of the waters.
Additionally, God’s voice is able to break cedars (melt hardened hearts), make Lebanon skip like a calf (perform seemingly impossible acts, but is anything too hard for our Creator, God?), strike with flashes of lightning (provide protection for His children with a display of magnificence), shake the desert (giving water to the thirsty soul in need of refreshment when none is in sight), twist the oak (entangle the strongest of men in recognition of His awesome power) and strips the forests bare (seizes all we are and all we have until, lying prostrate before Him, we finally look up in total surrender).
Comparatively, refer to the aforementioned adjectives that depict the intonations in the voice of God and review the latter verbs printed in each of the parenthetical explanations. What conclusions do you find? God’s voice is powerful, majestic, exerting an ability to break, make, strike, shake, twist or strip simply by a verbal command. However, those same vocal abilities can melt, perform, provide, give, entangle and seize in our defense and on our behalf!
As I mentioned last week, my favorite Christian musical group is Casting Crowns. They perform an inspiring song entitled, “Voice of Truth.” Upon hearing the words again today, God faithfully provided insight concerning His voice as the lyrics reminded me that
God is all about truth.
“Oh what I would do to have, the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors, shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times, I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me, time and time again, ‘Boy you’ll never win!’ “You’ll never win!’
But the voice of truth tells me a different story, the voice of truth says, ‘Do not be afraid!’
The voice of truth says, ‘this is for My glory’, out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”
In whatever situation we find ourselves, God’s voice needs to be so recognizable that we habitually follow His calling and obey His commands. Just as we were accustomed to our mother's voice and established appropriate responses acceptable to her, so we must recognize the voice of our Heavenly Father.
The final verse of this chapter in Psalms reads, “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” As we follow our Lord with an open heart and a yearning to please Him, God will grant strength for the journey and peace that exceeds all understanding. The voice of God and His verbal commands and inflections are always utilized for our good and His glory! May we learn to hear and understand His calling.
Please, Lord, continue to call my name and instruct me in the way I should walk each day. If I need your discipline through breaking, shaking, striking, twisting or stripping, may I become clay in the potter’s hand as you mold me into a vessel that will bring honor and glory to You. But most of all, may I recognize the voice of my Shepherd and realize Your staff will lead me in righteousness and truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen
In Psalm 29, beginning with verse 4, descriptive adjectives for the voice of the Lord are provided. We are told that the voice of the Lord is powerful, majestic; His voice can break, make, strike, shake, twist and strip! Now that’s quite an array of adjectives for our Heavenly Father’s voice. But let’s dig deeper into the context of these descriptions. According to verse 3, the voice of the Lord “thunders” over the mighty waters…that’s power, my friends. In those impossible situations when the water is rising and the waves are crashing in from all directions, God is majestic, impressively displaying dignity and grandeur as His voice is heard over the surface of the waters.
Additionally, God’s voice is able to break cedars (melt hardened hearts), make Lebanon skip like a calf (perform seemingly impossible acts, but is anything too hard for our Creator, God?), strike with flashes of lightning (provide protection for His children with a display of magnificence), shake the desert (giving water to the thirsty soul in need of refreshment when none is in sight), twist the oak (entangle the strongest of men in recognition of His awesome power) and strips the forests bare (seizes all we are and all we have until, lying prostrate before Him, we finally look up in total surrender).
Comparatively, refer to the aforementioned adjectives that depict the intonations in the voice of God and review the latter verbs printed in each of the parenthetical explanations. What conclusions do you find? God’s voice is powerful, majestic, exerting an ability to break, make, strike, shake, twist or strip simply by a verbal command. However, those same vocal abilities can melt, perform, provide, give, entangle and seize in our defense and on our behalf!
As I mentioned last week, my favorite Christian musical group is Casting Crowns. They perform an inspiring song entitled, “Voice of Truth.” Upon hearing the words again today, God faithfully provided insight concerning His voice as the lyrics reminded me that
God is all about truth.
“Oh what I would do to have, the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors, shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times, I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me, time and time again, ‘Boy you’ll never win!’ “You’ll never win!’
But the voice of truth tells me a different story, the voice of truth says, ‘Do not be afraid!’
The voice of truth says, ‘this is for My glory’, out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”
In whatever situation we find ourselves, God’s voice needs to be so recognizable that we habitually follow His calling and obey His commands. Just as we were accustomed to our mother's voice and established appropriate responses acceptable to her, so we must recognize the voice of our Heavenly Father.
The final verse of this chapter in Psalms reads, “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” As we follow our Lord with an open heart and a yearning to please Him, God will grant strength for the journey and peace that exceeds all understanding. The voice of God and His verbal commands and inflections are always utilized for our good and His glory! May we learn to hear and understand His calling.
Please, Lord, continue to call my name and instruct me in the way I should walk each day. If I need your discipline through breaking, shaking, striking, twisting or stripping, may I become clay in the potter’s hand as you mold me into a vessel that will bring honor and glory to You. But most of all, may I recognize the voice of my Shepherd and realize Your staff will lead me in righteousness and truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen