Still Small Voice

I've been thinking more about that big question of how we recognize the voice of God. A few weeks ago I was leading a retreat for university students. It was that Saturday when here  Northwest Arkansas, the rain absolutely poured down in torrents. And I came upon Psalm 29. 

"The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The God of glory Thunders. The Lord Thunders over the Mighty Waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forest bare, and all in His temple cry, glory!" 

You know, we wonder why God doesn't speak to us in an audible voice. I think this Psalm is the answer. A contemporary version might sound like this: "The voice of God is a tsunami. The voice of God is like a megaton nuclear weapon. The voice of God is a laser beam, like a black hole, like a solar flare! Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!" 

I think it's our sin and brokenness that makes us vulnerable before such power. So God sent Jesus. He turned down the volume, so that we could hear... and not die. But one day, because of Jesus, we will be  able to bask in the glory of that absolute power and majesty of God, and join with all of creation saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Who was, and is, and is to come." 

Until then, the still small voice of the Lord will do.