Hearing His Voice #57

The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.

Psalm 19:7-8

God inspired Scripture, and Scripture gives us instruction, encouragement, insight, correction, and all sorts of spiritual benefits. So it may seem rather obvious to insist that if we want to hear God’s voice, we can find it by opening the pages of our Bibles. This is where we start and how we measure whether or not something is God’s voice in the first place. The words of Scripture are His words, spoken through His servants. Whatever we think we hear outside of Scripture must line up with the revelation of God’s nature and will within Scripture. The Bible is the truth that frames all other communication from Him.

That said, we can’t develop a relationship with the words of Scripture and think that equates to a relationship with God. The religious scholars of Jesus’ day—and many throughout history ever since—were experts on Scripture, able to quote and expound on huge sections of it from memory. Yet, in spite of their knowledge of the Word, they missed the God who inspired it. They had read about the Messiah with great interest, but they were still blind to Him when He stood right in front of them. They confused mental knowledge with spiritual knowledge, and it was a fatal mistake.

Many Christians do the same today. Some of us act as if the Trinity is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Bible, not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But without God’s Spirit, the Scriptures are useless to us. We must be inspired when we read and hear, not simply know that the Word was inspired when it was written. It’s a living breath, and we must inhale it deeply.

Holy Spirit, make the Word alive to me as I read it. Every time I hear the words of Scripture, let Your voice come through clearly. Let it breathe life into me.