Laughing Waters

When God Speaks

Several years ago a good friend and I went backpacking to Montreal Falls in the Upper Peninsula.  Montreal Falls is in a remote location, close to the northernmost point in Michigan.  The falls descends, through a series of drops, directly into the vast expanse of Lake Superior, creating a beautiful waterfall at the mouth of the river.  We set up our tent several feet from the falls.  That night we fell asleep to the sound of rushing water.  I don’t think there’s a more soothing, beautiful sound than a running stream or a rushing river. 

If my memory serves me correctly, we finished the night praying in our tent.  I was in the tent praying to God, and my friend fell asleep.  There I was, possibly the only awake person for miles around me, talking to God, a sleeping friend next to me, a rushing river not far from me, and outside it was very dark. 

In the book of Revelation the voice of Jesus is described as being “like the sound of rushing waters.” (Rev. 1:15)  Normally we think of God’s voice as a gentle whisper.  That is an accurate way of thinking.  Most of the time God’s voice is quiet, soft, and gentle.  I don’t know many people who have heard God speak to them audibly or loudly.      

But God does not always speak quietly.  Sometimes, when He has something real important to say, His voice thunders.  Words roll off his tongue, from His heart, like a torrent of rushing water.  Perhaps He speaks loudly cause He wants to make sure we don’t miss it. 

Psalm 29:3-4 says, “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.  The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.”  (Psalm 29:3-4)  There is a power behind God’s voice that affects great change in our lives.  Like the voice of a parent, sometimes He has to shout at us to get our attention, to turn us back to the right direction. 

Today, God might seem distant.  He might seem quiet.  It may feel like He doesn’t hear, like He is not speaking.  There are times, seasons in our lives, where God is silent.  But He will not be silent forever.  He will speak.  And when He speaks, though it may be soothing, like the sound of a gentle whisper, it will be backed by the very power of heaven.


JG