Voice Like Water

Revelation 1:15 (NIV) —

‘...and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters’

For the Western reader, something that adds both beauty and challenge to our understanding of scripture is that it is rooted in Eastern tradition. While our Western thinking tends towards linear structure and precise definitions, Eastern tradition embraces storytelling and vivid imagery, believing that truth finds its most compelling expression in picture and experience rather than logical thinking. 

Revelation’s opening passage converges on its central statement — the voice of God is like the sound of rushing waters. Right at the core of John’s vision of Jesus is his powerful, transformative voice. Loud and powerful as the ocean and yet quiet and peaceful as a flowing stream. The voice of God is both awesome and elusive, at times still and seemingly silent. This stillness is not because God is evasive but because he is intimate, drawing us close to him.

If you are anything like me you’ve probably wished and asked at times for God’s voice to be louder and clearer. Sure, there are moments he speaks clearly, but more often I’ve found myself clinging desperately to prophetic words or truths about God and just longing for him to speak unequivocally into my circumstances! Consider though, that perhaps God’s quiet whisper is not intended to be difficult and hard to hear but rather to draw us close to him, so we listen acutely and wait until we've heard properly, submitting to him rather than rushing ahead on our own. 

God’s voice, like the subtle, easily missed sounds of nature, can be hard to hear and easy to ignore. But up close, or in stillness, the truth found in John’s vision of Jesus is that his voice is mighty and transformative.

Prayer — Father, help us to know your voice and not to be distracted and deceived by the noise of our world. Give us hearts that listen and wait for you, and the courage to act when you speak.