Hearing His Voice #117

[The members of the council] could see that [Peter and John] were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13

Earlier, a crowd in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost had marveled that a bunch of provincial Galileans were speaking in diverse languages from across the empire. Now the council of Israel’s religious leaders marvels that Peter and John are quoting Scripture and speaking with authority, even though they have no training in Scripture. In both cases, the speakers were filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking God-ordained words. And, in both cases, most of the hearers didn’t recognize those words as God’s. Why? Because they came from an unexpected source.

That’s often how it is with us. God speaks through the people we least expect, perhaps even to see if we can look past the flesh and see the Spirit. If Jesus appeared in front of us and gave us instructions, we would heed them zealously. But what if the Spirit spoke through an outcast on the street or that person at church who never quite seems to fit in? What if the TV preacher who is normally annoying and inauthentic happens to be God’s mouthpiece at the moment you’re flipping channels and utters a statement meant to travel directly from God’s heart to yours? We easily dismiss such moments, yet God uses them to find out if we can see the Spirit through unappealing packaging. Many religious leaders couldn’t see Jesus as the Messiah for exactly that reason: He didn’t look “Messiah-ish.” But He was. God loves to defy expectations.

In listening for God’s voice, expect the unexpected. Listen for His Spirit to speak profound guidance, not only through gifted spiritual leaders but through uneducated, common mouths, “unaware prophets,” and “unlikely angels.” His voice will be surprising—not only in what He says but in how He says it.

Lord, help me to recognize You in the least likely places. When You speak through someone who doesn’t seem spiritual or who rubs me the wrong way, help me to look past the surface and into Your Spirit.