The other day I was driving to church and thinking about voices. Now, before you think I’ve totally lost it, please read on…

I was thinking about when I was a kid and my Mom would call me in that voice that meant “oh boy, I’m in trouble now.” You know that voice, when your Mom yells your FULL name including your first, middle and even last name. As if she needed to do so. I mean, really, she named me, so she knew my entire name. But whenever I heard CYNTHIA ANN, I knew I’d better run and not walk, but get to her immediately. Something was wrong, and it was probably my fault, and I might be on my way to major punishment, but I still had to go. NOW. Her tone of voice demanded my attention. And if I had any sense at all, I’d better take heed to that voice.

I was thinking on my drive to church, that since as Christians we believe God is our Father, then He can also have that parental voice. We just have to listen to it and obey, which of course, is the hardest part. But when we know because of the Holy Spirit, that it is God speaking to us, we’d better run. Just as we ran to our parents as kids, as fast as we could, to their feet and face the consequences.

But I was also thinking about how the child’s voice sounds to the parent. Although I am not a parent, I know my nieces’ and nephews’ voices and would recognize them anywhere. If any of them shouted “Aunt Cindy!” I would drop everything and run to them. I’ve always been their protector, since they were babies. You don’t mess with my nieces and nephews or else you face the consequence of….Aunt Cindy.

I know my nieces’ and nephews’ voices when they are happy and when they are sad. I know when they are in distress, or when they are grieving. When they suffer heartbreak, my own heart breaks right along with them. I know their voices….

So as I was driving to church I thought about how God, as our parent, knows our voice. When we praise Him, He hears our voice. When we pray, He listens. And when we scream out His name in distress, He comes running.

 And then I thought “maybe that’s what we need to understand.” Our individual voices are unique, but God the Father knows each one of us. He knows because we are His children. How many of us are missing out on God’s blessings and help because we simply remain quiet? Perhaps we need to let God hear our voices more often.

All of these thoughts ran rampantly through my brain on the short drive to church last week. And then within ten minutes my “theory” was challenged.

The offering, which is usually taken at the end of service, was taken in the beginning of service this week. I pulled my money out of my pocket and quickly flipped through the bills to find the $5.00  that I knew was tucked away amongst the others.

Then I heard it. God’s voice telling me “Uh, Cindy, you need to give the bigger bill.”

And right there in church, I’m arguing with God. “Oh, Come on!” I said “You’ve got to be kidding me! I need that money to pay bills and I have to go to breakfast after church” and so on and so on. While this struggle was going on within me, I thought maybe I’d said some things out loud. But my cousin, who was standing next to me, did not look over at me, so I’m assuming all of this arguing was going on silently. Phew.

Then I heard that voice again. “You want me to hear your voice when you call Me, but you won’t listen to Mine?”

How could I possibly argue with that question?

Bam. That’s how God speaks to me. And there it is.

So, very quickly I put the $ 5.00 bill away and placed the large one in the offering bucket. God made His point and I had to obey.

And that’s what it is to have a relationship with God. Not just a religion, but a true relationship. A communication that actually involves dialogue between you and God. We talk, He listens. He talks, we listen.

There have been times over the last eight years that I have cried out in total anguish to God. But there also were times when I didn’t want to hear His response. I didn’t want to listen. After my brother’s death, there were times when I shut down the two way communication because I was angry and hurt. But God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that about me. I wasn’t keeping anything from Him. He understands it all.

And now that I’ve been participating in those dialogues again, I’m getting more peace about some things. It’s as if God has said “Oh, there it is. I hear that voice again! I know that voice, it’s my child!”

What is it that you are struggling with? I advise you to keep those lines of communication open. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard God’s voice, try to listen. Pay attention. And know that when you speak to Him, He will know your voice as well. And just like a parent knows a child’s voice, God will hear you. And He will listen when you speak.