God Speaks

There are persons in this world who just like to hear themselves talk. 

Jesus is not one of them. 

Throughout the Gospels, we hear the voice of God. We also hear the voice of Jesus. And we are told repeatedly that this voice has not been for His benefit, but for ours (i.e. John 12:30). 

In that specific verse, Jesus is predicting His death and indeed, the time is approaching, and a voice booms from the heavens and declares Him the beloved son. John tells us the whole crowd heard the noise and knew that the heavens had spoken to Him, but Jesus said - it wasn't because I needed to hear it; it was because you needed to hear it. 

At His baptism by John, the heavens opened and thunder roared and a dove descended. Again, none of this was because Jesus needed a sign from heaven; it was because those around Him did. 

When Jesus was praying, He specifically said, "I pray these words not for us to hear (me and You, Father), but for their sake...." The disciples and the others around Him were the ones who needed to hear Him pray. 

In my life, I have been around those who like to hear themselves speak, and quite honestly, they are very boring and not very encouraging. I even find myself boring and not very encouraging when I'm talking a lot, usually to try to establish some sense of presence or authority or value. 

But I have also been around those that I desperately needed to hear speak. You know these moments. They are usually tense or at least, heavy. Burdened with an air that is so thick you almost can't breathe. You're looking into each other's faces, and something is silently begging in your heart - say something. Or you're dealing with someone you know loves you, and they just haven't said it yet, but the timing is oh so perfect and you're holding your breath - say something. Or you messed up at work and everybody kind of knows it, but nobody's said anything yet and your boss keeps walking by your desk and shooting the breeze - say something. 

I think the crowds, at these moments when the heavens thunder, was having that same kind of sensation. Their hearts were in their throats, they were starting to suspect, they were beginning to hope, they were thinking about believing, everything was hinging on this little gnawing of understanding that was creeping up in their hearts, and they just needed that one thing, that one little thing, to push them over into fuller faith. 

Say something. 

So He does. 

The Lord speaks, not to hear Himself talk, but because we need to hear Him. His voice is, as Jesus Himself said, for our benefit. 

Do you hear it?