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)

Psalm 68:33 – To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. (KJV)

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)

My husband and I took a train trip a while ago, something we both very much enjoy, as trains played such an important part in our youth. My husband grew up in a railroad family. When his father came to Canada in 1926, he felt blessed to find a job with the Canadian Pacific Railroad in the interior of British Columbia, and stayed with it until his retirement 43 years later.

As for me, I can still feel the excitement of my first train trip to Ontario at the age of 5, wide-eyed at the window most of the night, counting cars on the long, long trains as they passed ours. The twinkling lights of the towns seemed something like stars that had landed to light the darkness of night. We'd had to drive 800 miles to catch the train. How well I remember the passenger train making its debut at our little town in north-eastern British Columbia several years later.

And so it was that we were very much enjoying sitting in our section, relishing the clickety-clack of days gone by, looking out at the lay of the land, when a voice came over the loudspeaker giving a running account of where we were, and the significance of different things. It was most interesting for a time, but then it became something of a nuisance, for it followed wherever we went — in the washroom, in the dining room — and in all honesty, it was getting somewhat grating.

That is, until it occurred to me to wonder what God's voice sounds like, and if God were to be the one on the loudspeaker, would I still feel such disdain? Would I wish I could turn it off? And I couldn't help but wonder, when we hear those things that we know we need to hear, but don't want to hear, is it not God Who is speaking to us?

God's voice is many voices. He speaks with us in the quieting calm of prayer; through ripples in a pond, the fronds of a fern, clouds, sunrises and sunsets; through our leaders, our teachers, our ministers, and spiritual directors; through the written Word, our families, and our friends. When tempted, let us not give in and "turn Him off".

Prayer: Help us to remember, Lord, that You speak to us in many, many and varied ways. Lead us to listen more closely in those times when we think we don't want to hear. In Your name we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Mary Daniel <marydee@shaw.ca>
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
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