Can You Hear Me?

“Dad, Mireille’s on the line! Talk!”

“Hello, Mireille. We love you! Are you there?”

“Mom, she’s on. Say something. Speak up!”

“Hello, Mireille. We love you! Can you hear me?”

Heart-wrenching, but hilarious, the scene played out as David finally connected with his wife, Mireille, in Lebanon. David had come to visit his parents in the U.S. He had tried for days to get a good phone connection so his parents could talk with their daughter-in-law. After much yelling up and down the house and trying one phone after another, David’s parents finally made contact. After they hung up, they laughed with relief.

Observing this as a visitor in their home, it made me wonder how often our Father calls out from heaven to us: “I LOVE YOU! Can you hear me?” He’s on the line daily—in that big Bible lying on the table. Like a telephone, we can pick it up and listen to Him speak.

When separated from loved ones, we long to hear their voice. We can hear the voice of God by reading or listening to the words of His book. Sometimes when I read my Bible, I read aloud so I can hear Him better. Some churches listen to Him by reading whole passages of the Word as part of worship. Viewers of the JESUS film hear the gospel word for word, and lives are changed. Sometimes a friend looks us in the eye and lovingly quotes, word for word, a verse we need to hear and obey, and we recognize the voice. God’s truth is powerful; it speaks for itself.

Elisabeth Elliot said, “We deceive ourselves if we claim to want to hear God’s voice but neglect the primary channel through which it comes. We must read His Word. We must obey it. We must live it, which means rereading it throughout our lives.”

God is longing to say to us, “I am your Heavenly Father. I have paid for your sins through the death and resurrection of my Son. Read my Word. I want to talk to you. I love you. Can you hear me?”

Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.

Isaiah 55:3