By Drew Williams
Mark Batterson writes, “Learning how to hear the voice of God is the solution to a thousand problems.” How many times have we said, “If only I knew what God was saying!”
The Bible would seek to assure us that His voice is love, mercy, grace, power, peace, healing, wisdom and joy. How can we tune our hearts to hear the wonderful voice of God?
People often ask me what I miss about the UK. There are a few things to be sure, but in my top five are the Greek Islands! From the UK, it is just a short plane ride to beautiful golden beaches, crystal azure waters and a tremendous amount of sunshine. During one of our trips to the Islands, when my children were very young, I recall spending a very typical day on the beach hunting for shells and holding my tiny daughters by their wet slippery hands, as I lifted them up and out of the water as the waves broke on the sea-shore. They would say, “Again! Again!” and the tide obliged. At the end of this particular day my wife offered (in a moment of legendary generosity) to take the children back to the apartment, so that I could enjoy the last swim of the day.
I loved that sacred hour on the beach. The water had been warmed all day by the sun that now cast long shadows across the sand. After the swim, I walked a little way up the beach and sat in the evening heat to dry out. As the sun began its descent, I reached into my backpack and grabbed my Bible. My plan had been to read John’s Gospel, and I had gotten a little behind on my schedule, so this felt like the ideal moment to catch up. I recall that it went very quiet, with just the sound of the ocean and the wind fluttering the wafer-thin paper pages of my Bible. And then, as crazy as this sounds, in that moment of stillness, I heard someone speak my name.
It was not an audible voice, but it struck my consciousness with the same surprise as if someone had literally come and sat down beside me. The still small voice that had spoken my name was very specific. I was not addressed as “Andrew” but very specifically as “Drew”. As a child, I was only referred to as “Andrew” when I was being told off, as in, “Andrew! Go and sit on the naughty step!” Over time, “Andrew” graduated from the naughty step and came to be the formal name at the top of examination papers and then on business cards. “Drew”, however, had an altogether different heart resonance. “Drew” is family. My wife calls me “Drew”. My brother calls me “Drew”. I am Uncle “Drew”. But above all, my Dad has always called me “Drew”. And as I sat alone on a beach, as improbable as this appears, to the best of my knowledge, I heard my heavenly Father call me “Drew”.
As I continued to read (every hair on the back of my neck on end), I came to John chapter fourteen. Jesus says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” [John 14:9] Jesus adds, “He who loves me will be loved by my Father.” [John 14:10], And then later at chapter 16 “The Father himself loves you because you have loved me.’ [John 16: 25]. And in that moment, there was a gear change in my relationship with God.
I was in no doubt that God was able to speak into our lives. There had been significant moments of life-change when I had sensed God’s leading. I was even ready to believe that God could choose to speak to me again. I just hoped that I would be paying sufficient attention when He did! This bizarre and profound introduction to the love of the Father on a Greek beach changed this. I knew what it was to be a Dad. I knew what it was to enjoy spending time with my children. What good Father would not desire to speak with his children all of the time? In the fullness of the Father’s love – it dawned on me that my heavenly Father was speaking to me, not intermittently or sporadically (as I had wrongly presumed) but all of the time – very directly and very, very personally.
So if God is speaking continuously, directly and personally to us, how do we turn up the volume?
The foundation for that process is the Bible – at which point some of us might be tempted to stop reading! Why the Bible? Isn’t that just the kind of thing pastors are supposed to say. Well yes – but for good reason. I don’t, however, bring this up to cast a guilt trip over any of us, or add something else to a demanding schedule, and neither am I suggesting something impossible. Simply, the Bible is the starting point and the foundation in our hearing God. On the beach, I realized He speaks to us through His Word with a living voice.
We don’t just read the Bible – the Bible reads us! When we read the scriptures, it is as if we are inhaling the Holy Spirit. The King James Version gives Psalm 119 this rendering: “…quicken [my emphasis] thou me according to thy word.” [Psalm 119:25]. The word “quicken” is the same word that refers to resurrection life. This is the work of the Holy Spirit meeting us with resurrection life and making the Word very personal and very real. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” [Hebrews 4:12]. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts because the Holy Spirit targets it, speaks it into the core of us.
Maybe that is not your experience? If so, let me offer a few tips. When you pick up a Bible (and there also some great Apps) start small. Why not begin with a Psalm and perhaps take on John’s Gospel? As you begin, do remember to pray that ancient liturgical prayer that has served the church well over the centuries: “Help!” Read and re-read carefully and systematically. Pause on the verses that intrigue you or somehow catch your attention or pose a question. Listen and expect God to “speak.”
The Word is the major highway of communication – but it is also the “key of keys” because it holds out and then corroborates the myriad ways that God may also choose to snag our attention. For example, the Bible is clear that it is not beneath God to speak to us in the language of our own desires. I suspect this may immediately make us feel nervous. We are much more inclined to think, “If I want it this badly, this can’t be from God!”
The first step in deciphering the language of desire is held out in Psalm 37. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” [my emphasis, Psalm 37:4] What is it to delight in the Lord? It is to simply enjoy God’s presence. And to do so without an agenda save for growing in love of God. What might “delighting” in the Lord look like for us? Perhaps it’s taking up a Bible reading plan. Perhaps it’s what we choose to listen to in the car? Perhaps it is to serve somewhere? Once we have loosened our grip on our agenda, then we are ready to prayerfully ask, “Lord, are you in this desire that is stirring within me?” Does our desire stand up to Biblical values of love and mercy? Have we remembered to check our ego at the door? Does this desire wax and wane or does it grow stronger? Remember, we can be equally terrified by the prospect of taking something on for God, and grow in our desire for this course of action—all at the same time! Have we sought the help from those a little bit further ahead in their faith? They will remember the same wrestling in their own lives and can pray for us.
Can God speak to us through our circumstances? Mark Batterson rightly points out, “Jesus warns against signs and wonders serving as the litmus test of faith – but this does not negate their value when it comes to navigating God’s will in our lives.” What if Noah had ignored the forecast? What if Joseph had disregarded those dreams, or Moses had walked past the burning bush and attempted to extinguish it with his sandals! Signs are subject to interpretation. There is a very fine line between reading them and reading into them.
But we can learn to read signs in the same way we learn to read the language of desire – with our Bible open and the help of the Holy Spirit.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once spoke of a child walking along holding his father’s hand. All is well. The child is happy. He feels secure. His father loves him. He believes that his father loves him but there is no unusual urge to talk about this or sing about it. It is simply true, and it is pleasant. Then suddenly the father startles the child by reaching down and sweeping him up into his arms and hugging him tightly and kissing him on the neck and whispering, “I love you so much!” And then holding the stunned child so that he can look into his face, he says with all his heart, “I am so glad you are mine!” Then he hugs him once more, with unspeakable warmth and affection. He puts the child down and they continue their walk. The child is simply stunned. Any subconscious doubts (that he wasn’t thinking about at the time but pop up every now and then) are gone! And in their place is utter and indestructible assurance that the child is loved by his Father.
As I read Lloyd Jones account, I couldn’t help but recall that late afternoon on a Greek beach. And this is exactly what the Holy Spirit delights to do for every single one of us. “…God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” [Romans 5:5].
In these moments, in the fullness of His love, we are opened up to the extraordinary revelation that we have a heavenly Father who loves us with so much passion that He could only desire to speak to His child continuously and personally.
Drew Williams is Senior Pastor of Trinity Church. Drew came to Trinity from the Church of England where he served as a vicar in a large church outside of London. Trinity Sunday services are at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m. at GHS. Visit trinitychurch.life
