God Still Speaks

The air conditioner buzzed in the window, stopping every once in a while to gurgle its' objection to working so hard that particular afternoon.

It was well near ninety degrees outside, and despite cranking the poor AC up, the heat still radiated through our little living room.  I barely noticed.

Trevor and I sat on the thread worn couch- he played solitaire on the laptop... and I worried.

I had spent the past year working occasionally as a substitute teacher. It hadn't been a great fit for me to be a short-term sub, but job openings were few. I knew I wanted steady, consistent work.

I ended up with two choices: a paraprofessional job at a small school, or an office job at the camp where we lived.

I'd weighed the decision over and over, and finally, on this afternoon, I turned to my husband with a big exasperated sigh.

"I wish God would just tell me what to do!" 






Often, we want God to talk to us like He did to the people in the Bible.

I know I do.

I want Abraham's conversations with God. I want the burning bush. I want audible, distinct- the verbal Word of God.

Heck, I'd even settle for an angel messenger. Or a hand, writing on the wall.


Now, I do believe that He still speaks to people the way He did in the Old Testament... but He hasn't spoken that way to me.

Does that mean that I'm somehow inferior? Or that I'm not listening hard enough?





God does speak today. 

In fact, many of us carry around His Words in our purses. Some have it tattooed around their ankles. Most of us have more than one copy in our homes.

He does speak today.

We call it the Bible.

Honestly, we often think that the audible, "take off your sandals" method of God speaking to us is somehow preferred to the way that He gave us to hear from Him.

That's simply not true. 

I think about the contents of the Book I carry, of the Word that so often sits unopened on my nightstand.

Abraham hears the voice of God, saying that God would bless the world through Abraham's offspring. The Bible reveals that blessed offspring's name, and allows us to know him and look into his eyes. 

Moses is told to bring his people from Egypt- God prepares him for the Passover. The Bible tells us that the ultimate, eternal salvation comes not from lamb's blood on the doorway, but Christ's blood on the cross. 

Mary was approached by an angel from God, and even though she doesn't understand it, her life is forever changed. The Bible brings us that same message- that Christ has come- and our lives are forever changed. 

I get to see not only the beginning or the middle of God's story for humanity, but I get to see the end, too.

I have guidelines for my behavior, for dealing with conflicts, for practicing hospitality. I have words of hope in hard times, words about the very character of my God.

It's all there, on whisper thin, leather-bound pages.

I just have to listen. 

I just have to open up the pages of God's holy and living Word.

The Bible is enough- complete within itself to reveal the purposes of God.

The Bible is understandable- it's clear enough for my uneducated and often limited mind to read with comprehension.

The Bible is true- it's the authority to which I hold everything.

The Bible is necessary- every single day, guiding and pointing me to God.



Even when reading the Bible is hard, I know that it's so necessary, so clear, so sufficient, so authoritative.

I want to hear God. 

I have to open up those pages and let Him speak to me.

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