Devotion: I remember having this ridiculous thought when I was in high school. Amidst dramatic friendships, awkwardly dating, and trying to figure out the next step after graduation, I said to a friend, “Wouldn’t it be nice if God had just decided to make it obvious to each person who they are going to marry? Like, what if that person were to glow and only you could see it? You wouldn’t have to waste time on silly relationships and dating the wrong people.” I knew then and I know now that this thought is a bit crazy. But isn’t it true that we want God to speak to us in this sort of way?
We know that He can speak to us however He chooses. And it can be in miraculous ways. We see this in the story of the burning bush in Exodus 3:1-4:
“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
God chose to speak to Moses through a burning bush. And if I’m being honest, that seems really appealing. I can often find myself wondering how the Israelites would doubt God or lose faith when He spoke through a burning bush, appeared in a cloud by day and a fire by night, and provided manna and quail for them in the wilderness every day. This type of tangible and physical presence seems really nice.
But then I am reminded that I always have the very Word of God at my fingertips. I don’t need to wait for Him to speak. In fact, there was a period of 200 years of silence where God didn’t speak at all. And now, every single day I have the opportunity to hear what He says. It isn’t just that He spoke once, and I can read what He said at some prior point in time. No, the Bible is living and active. This means that God still speaks to us through it today.
Let’s not get sidetracked by wishing for God to speak to us in grandiose ways. Instead, let’s show up daily and listen for what God is trying to say to us through the Holy Scriptures. It is a joy and a privilege that we can hear from Him at any moment on any day.
Reflect:
- Do you ever find yourself wishing for God to make Himself clearer or to speak in a bold way?
- Pray that God would speak to you through His Word and His Spirit as you read through the Bible.
