Hearing God’s Voice

The last few months have been, let’s say, different from the usual in our house.  Of course, life didn’t change as much for us as it did for a lot of people who have a job outside their homes and send their children to school because I work from home providing bookkeeping services for a few businesses and homeschool my children.  Our daily routine remained comparatively unchanged, but our weekly outings did come to a screeching halt.  No visits to the library, parks, or other public places with the children as a result of the stay-home orders in our state in response to the threat of the virus.

At the beginning of this incident, I checked in on the news reports almost on a daily basis to see what the outlook was.  Since the lockdown was originally supposed to be a few weeks, it was no big deal for us to comply.  Of course, the shortage of toilet paper was quite comical.  I’m not sure anyone in the world has a logical explanation for how this panic over toilet paper was sparked or why stocking up on toilet paper was in any way a solution for this so called pandemic. 

When the stay at home orders were extended after we passed the incubation period of two weeks and another time even after the “curve was flattened,” I began to question the validity of what we were being told by the “experts” about how we should live our lives and preparing us to adjust to the “new normal.”

Aside from the confusion created by the changing opinions on the effectiveness of wearing masks that the microscopic virus could easily pass through, I have come across some hard to process opinions presented on various platforms on the reasons behind everything that is happening these days.  Putting it all together is the perfect recipe for fear, despair, and hopelessness.

I began to see how we are so accustomed to relying on the news, politicians, and even our social circles to make decisions on how we should live our lives.  This brought to mind the story of the exodus of the Hebrews from the land of Egypt. 

As I have done in previous posts, I would like to insert a disclaimer once again: I am not a prophet, neither am I in any way attempting to claim that I have any superior interpretation of the current situation.

I must point out, however, how easy it is to see the lack of faith in the Hebrews as we read about God bringing them out of Egypt.  He sent plagues and showed signs and wonders to prove to them that He sent a deliverer to bring them out of slavery.  He even split the red sea so they could pass through it as though it was dry ground.  He led the way and guided them with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. Yet, they spent forty years wondering in the wilderness, rebelling and complaining against God’s leading, and even reminiscing of the days when they were slaves in Egypt.  Following God’s leading was unfamiliar to them and they were uncomfortable and even afraid to hear what He had to say to them.  Remaining in Egypt, in slavery and brutal oppression, seemed to be safe because it was familiar.

This never made sense to me before.  But, in this unpredictable and confusing situation the world is in today, I have found an interesting similarity between the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt and the modern day reliance on the news channels and proclamations of politicians. 

Another disclaimer: I am not encouraging disregard for authority.  That aspect of life on this earth has its place and is mandated by the Word of God.

However, what I am beginning to see is how much we rely on the prognosis of human experts, whose opinions of how we must live and behave are based on their interpretations of the information available to them.  Yes, they are more experienced in interpreting the complexities involved in the matter.  Nevertheless, their understanding remains finite.

The Hebrews lived in Egypt for four hundred years.  That is more than a few life times, and more than a few generations even.  They had learned to pattern their daily lives and habits according to the ways of that land.  From the food they ate to the jobs they had and the rituals they took part in, they became accustomed and comfortable with those ways.  Their day was dictated by the commands and edicts of their oppressors so they had no need nor opportunity to figure out what they were going to do and how.

It all started out well.  They were provided for and taken care of in the land at first.  Yet, there came a time when they became enslaved.  Their lives were no longer their own and even their children were taken from them.  The sad part for me is that all but one woman accepted this cruelty, because it was their “normal”.

I don’t know at what point in their story that the Hebrews began to cry out to God, but when they finally could no longer endure the cruelty of their captors and called upon the Lord to deliver them from their oppression, He heard their cry and prepared a deliverer to lead them out of slavery.

God sent Moses, whose mother didn’t accept the “normal” practice by which her precious baby boy would be torn away from her to be brutally and heartlessly disposed of as an unnecessary threat.  The Word of God says, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” (Hebrews 11:23)

Here is what is exciting for me: I know many in our time have been crying out for years for God to move in a mighty way on this planet, just like the Hebrews had cried out when their hearts were heavy with the oppression they had to endure.  The Word of God also promises a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days.  Which brings me to my main thought for this blog:  Yes! We are living in the last days, which God’s Word describes as deceitful, dark, and terrifying.  But at the same time, we are living the days that God had promised to pour out His Holy Spirit upon all flesh.  Yes, He sent His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and His Holy Spirit has been working through history from that day until now.  Yet, today more than ever, more and more people are beginning to become aware of the heaviness of the dark and terrible times we live in.  They are reaching a point of despair and desperation where they are beginning to cry out under the weight of the present darkness.

I believe we are in a historical moment when God will move in a mighty way as he had promised.  My question is, will I be willing to hear His voice and follow His leading?  Will I “trim my lantern” when the shout of the groom’s coming is heard? Or will I remain in the comfort of the familiar?  My prayer is for God to fine tune my spiritual ears so that I can hear Him and to strengthen my heart so that I will step out and run after Him as He leads His people out of oppression under fear and despair.