Read
Deuteronomy 4:32-40
Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
Verse 33 (NIV)

Reflect
The pandemic has made us realize that as humans we were created to have interaction with one another. Imagine for a moment if we were also banned from speaking with one another. It would be devastating! We need to hear the voices of others – even disappointed or angry ones – or we would melt away into ourselves.

The people of Israel saw the amazing works of God and heard the thundering voice of God from Mount Sinai, and they trembled in righteous fear. No other people had heard such speech; no other people had experienced such a God. Very simply, “there is no other.”

There are other voices that try to distract us from hearing God. The Evil One tries in all kinds of ways to make us doubt, distrust, and rebel against the Lord. This happened long ago to Israel in the desert, and it happens to us today. We are easily tempted to complain, criticize, and puff ourselves up with pride, thinking we deserve more out of life.

But the Lord is all we need, and he takes care of all our needs, even blessing us with abundance. Because he loves us, God breaks into our silence, speaking to us through his Word, the Bible, and especially through Jesus Christ, the living Word. In the silence of our self-absorbed lives, we may be tempted to wait for a more pleasing or more palatable voice. But there is no other true speech. Let’s hear the voice of God today – and live.

Pray
Lord, speak to me and help me to hear you and see your works in my life, sharing with others so that they too may live. In Jesus, Amen.