by EnnisP

Created on: February 03, 2009

Why Doesn't God Speak to Us...Normally?

People often complain that God is not visibly present or audibly perceived and they are correct on both counts. He has, however, made extensive efforts to communicate with us, not just on the odd occasion, but throughout history. In fact, one New Testament writer captured the full extent of God's effort to communicate in one very brief statement:

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son." (Hebrews 1:1-2)

In other words, God has spoken to us consistently over a long period of time (most of human history) and has used a variety of methods to do so.

The people to whom this book was written, the Hebrews, (hence the name) were very familiar with the Bible record. They knew what God had done in the past and could appreciate the writer's meaning. But, unless a person is familiar with Bible history they cannot know the full import of this statement.

Therefore, please consider the following ways in which God has communicated with us:

* God spoke audibly to Adam, Eve, Cain, Noah, Abraham and others. He even spoke audibly during the life of Jesus.

* He physically appeared to Abraham, Joshua and Gideon in the Old Testament and He appeared after the resurrection to the Apostles in the New.

* He used dreams to communicate with Jacob and his son Joseph.

* He used visions to reveal future world events to Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah and the Apostle John.

* He made His will known to Moses, the Israelites and even to the Egyptians using miraculous signs and wonders during the Exodus.

* God also used angels as messengers to Abraham, Daniel, Zacharias and Mary.

* In addition, and amazingly, He spoke convincingly to Elijah using a still small voice.

Obviously, God's methods were not monotonous. He used a variety of diverse ways to communicate. You could say that God is a Master Communicator. He has no limitations and sometimes used a combination of several methods at the same time.

Of all the means God has used to communicate with us, however, the most significant was Jesus, whom the Bible refers to as Immanuel, "God with us," and we refer to as "the incarnation."

Jesus didn't just appear out of nowhere and then fade. He did not come to us as a vision or dream. He became human in the same way we become human and lived among us, as one of us. This was a time consuming and inconvenient method of communication for Him. God, whose existence is not restricted by

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