The Voice Inside
Few hear the audible voice of God. Those of us who have, we know it may be due to our own shame and unbelief, yet at the same time so appreciate the boost in our faith this experience has given us.
For me, I was a stubborn young man with an ego far exceeding my confidence and abilities. I was determined to change an overhead light on a power pole in our driveway. My aluminum ladder was about four feet too short. My redneck roots reasoned my old pick-up truck would easily make up the difference if I parked the truck next to the pole and propped the ladder in the back of the truck. While I can remember the truck, ladder, and set-up in my head, I wish I had a picture to give you the real redneck flavor of the moment.
I climbed the ladder with the replacement light in my coat pocket and enough sheer willpower to overcome my fear of heights (or so I thought). If there had been no wind gust or shaking of the ladder, I would have changed the light in a matter of moments and there would be nothing to share. However, with the ladder extended to the farthest rung (which by the way was one rung beyond the safe extension limit, but everyone knows those limits are merely suggestions) and me at about the point just beyond halfway, a gust of wind came out of absolutely nowhere.
The moments following were one of three times in my entire life I experienced real terror and fear, the kind erupting suddenly in your heart and seizing your body in a paralyzing hold, squeezing the very breath from your lungs. My coat acted like a sail, catching the wind and pulling me away from the ladder. My hands, locked to the ladder in a death grip, refused to let go and kept me in place, resulting in a tug-a-war with the wind and a billowing effect with me on the ladder. The wind gust pounded me, buffeting my coat, and causing the sadistic ladder to shake back and forth. I am convinced the ladder would have fallen if it had been against the side of a building, but fortunately, the top rungs were straddling the pole just below the light and kept the ladder in place in spite of my violent waltz with the jet stream whirling around me. Somewhere in the middle of the devastating panic, I heard a small little girl crying uncontrollably and only later realized the sobbing voice was my own.
The wind blew, the ladder bounced, I cried, and God spoke to me in an audible voice, saying, “Calm down, my son. I have you.”
Instantly, the wind stopped and the ladder was still. A wave of peace washed over me, enveloping me. I stood there on the ladder for a moment longer before finishing my climb to change the light. The peace and calm remained with me until I jumped off the back of my pick-up truck and my feet were on the ground.
Some may explain away this experience as a hallucination, trick of the mind, primal survival instincts, or some other psychobabble to deny God spoke to a scared man standing on an aluminum ladder. For me, I was a feeble believer at the time, hardly enough of a Christian to qualify for the name, and my lack of Scriptural knowledge would not have lent enough information to conjure up the voice. Mind tricks cannot stop the wind. The peace following His words was the first time in my life to experience the utter and complete calm I have come to know to be from God.
His peace. His calm. Taste it once, know it forever.
I know some people envy or yearn for a similar experience, but you should know this was to my shame. God spoke to me because of my unbelief. I let terror and fear control me on the ladder, to the point where I was probably close to falling. Instead of praying in the moment, I gave myself over in unbelief to the panic and worry. Instead of calling on Jesus, I cried like a little girl. To my shame, God intervened and probably saved me from falling.
I believe God wants us to know that no matter how difficult things may get for us, He will sustain all who trust in him. He speaks to us, sometimes audibly, but mostly He speaks in a more powerful way to our inner being.
This is confirmed by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 30:21:
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
We understand Jewish history, both secular and religious, confirms Isaiah delivered this word to Israel in the very worst of times. The nation was in absolute ruin, devastated, and shaking to the core. Isaiah told Israel’s leaders, “Turn to the Lord now! He wants to give you a word of direction, to speak to you, saying, ‘Go this way, go that way, here’s the way…’” History also confirms the leaders would not listen. They decided they would turn to Egypt to deliver them, thinking they could rely on the Egyptians’ chariots, horses, and supplies.
Yet, God did not get angry. Instead, He waited patiently for them to realize His plan is better than their plan, He can bring peace and calm in the midst of their windstorm. In that same passage of Isaiah, verse 18 tells us:
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! O people… you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you.
I read the words, “How gracious He will be when you cry for help” and I am reminded of a pathetic little man, shaking on a ladder and crying out. While I did not cry out to God, He answered me and embraced me in a peace and calm beyond description. How much more will He do when we actually cry out to Him directly?
What matters, what is vitally important, is that we get to know the voice of God. He is still speaking. He made it clear, “My sheep know my voice.” There are many voices in the world today – many loud, demanding voices. Why should God compete with loud demanding voices when He can speak so much more powerfully directly to your heart?
Are you tough enough to listen? Are you tough enough to take the time to listen to God? Are you tough enough to believe?
Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
Sign Up For Email Delivery For This Blog
