I once read a sign in the lobby of a church that said: “When God speaks, He will not call your cell phone, so please turn yours off as you enter the auditorium.” I enjoyed that immensely but have also been convicted by its message. With all of the modern technology today ringing in our ears, I wonder if we would even recognize God’s voice if He did “call.”
In Acts chapter nine, Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus, ready to imprison anyone he could find who was following the way of Jesus Christ. Suddenly, a light shone down from Heaven that literally blinded his eyes. A voice, following that light, said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” I find Saul’s response very interesting. Trembling and astonished, he asked, “Who art thou, Lord?” He answers his own question before he finishes asking it. How did Saul know that this was the voice of God? I believe that he had heard that voice before. No doubt at the stoning of Stephen, Saul had heard that voice. No doubt as he had watched the early Christians suffer martyrdom (some historians say that Saul was responsible for the death of over two thousand Christians prior to his conversion), he had heard this voice. Now as he hears God speak once again, his heart is smitten, and he is wonderfully converted!
When is the last time you heard God speak to you? With our ears to our cell phones, our televisions, our computers, our video games, and all the other noisy distractions of the world, I wonder: Can God get through to us anytime He wants?
Most cell phones today have “caller ID” so that you can choose not to answer if you do want to talk to whoever is calling. Worse than not hearing God’s voice today would be to hear Him, but refuse to answer!
“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:” Proverbs 1:24–29
If you have been ignoring God’s voice lately, why not give Him a call today. He will not block your call; you will not get voicemail or a busy signal. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). If by some chance you forget, and He calls you first—make sure you answer. He has a great message for you!