Hearing His Voice #298

We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:13-14

Before Jesus came, fallen human beings had to be shielded from God’s glory. The veil that was meant to be temporary became permanent in our thinking. We learned to assume God’s distance, except in unusual circumstances, rather than assuming His presence always. In other words, we lowered our expectations. We began basing our faith entirely on experience, which convinced us that there were limits to how closely we could know God and how clearly we could hear Him. Like birds who still haven’t realized the cage door is open, we continued to sit in captivity to our tangible surroundings. We stopped pursuing the greater presence because . . . well, we don’t really know anyone who has had any success with that.

But actually we do. Scripture is full of testimonies of people who had extraordinary encounters with God. So is church history, and today’s testimonies seem to be increasing. We can dismiss them if we want, but we have plenty of genuine opportunities to hear and believe. If we understand that the veil has been taken away, we will.

Deny the veil. Don’t be swayed by what you see; be convinced of what you know. Accept what God has said and press boldly into the depths of your relationship with Him. Because the veil is taken away in Christ, there need never be anything obstructing our hearing, nothing interfering with the signal, no interruption to the connection. The only limits to our hearing are the lack of expectancy in our own prayers and lack of zeal or commitment. Faith and persistence lead to glory.

Lord, may I never impose limits to our relationship that You have already removed. Light a fire in me to press into Your presence beyond the former veil.