Hearing His Voice #307

[God said,] “Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard.”

Isaiah 48:6

“Lord, teach me something about You that I don’t already know.” This request of mine was answered when I overheard my wife talking to my son. He had been anxious about a health issue, and he needed reassurance. Lots of it. Again and again. And he kept asking to be reminded that he would be okay. Finally, my wife said, “Saying it again isn’t going to make it any more true than it was the first time I told you.”

Immediately, I saw myself in that verbal exchange. I had been anxious about a problem and asking God for reassurance. Lots of it. Again and again. And He had given me plenty of encouragement to believe what I already knew to be true. Yet my heart was anxious, and I kept feeling the need to hear His confirmation time after time. He let me know His perspective on my neediness through my wife’s words to my son. Hearing it from God again wasn’t going to make it any more true than the first time I heard Him. When He says something, it’s true—without an expiration date.

Asking God to teach us something we don’t already know or that we need to understand better is always a welcome question. He loves to show us new things, and He will open our eyes to illustrations and parables around us to display who He is. When we’re focused on learning about God rather than on self-improvement, failures, needs, and desires, we grow in the relationship and are transformed without even being aware of it. As in any relationship, greater intimacy cultivates greater sensitivity and conformity to the other’s interests. When we ask God to show us more of Himself, He finds a way to speak to our hearts and draw us closer.

Lord, I long to know who You are—deeply, intimately, and beyond religious explanations. And I know You are zealous to unveil Your nature personally to those who long for You. Give me pictures of Your perspective so I can know Your heart.