10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
Exodus 7:10-12 ESV
I often talk about how God talks. He does! It’s not that He did talk; it’s that He did talk and he does talk. Something that I’ve been learning lately is that our human words often create the wrong picture in other human brains.
If I have heard from God, it’s not because I am special, it’s because He wants me to hear from Him. The word “hear” might not even be the right word. Often times I see, or I know, or I think. Many describe hearing from God as “I feel.” That tug on the heart, that inkling that this is the right thing, or what God wants us to do. Sometimes we don’t know He has spoken until we look back and see His obvious involvement in our desires and actions.
Honestly, it would be so much easier if we all heard an audible voice. Every time. Give me that burning bush, a burning heart, His audible voice, and throw in an open vision all at once. Then I could be sure that I didn’t mistake what was said or who said it. That’s rarely how the voice of God comes though.
When Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh to ask that he let God’s people go they needed a sign to show the power of God and the fact that they truly had heard from Him and were speaking for Him. Aaron throws down his staff and it becomes a snake. God shows up with his miracle, loud and clear.
Then the sorcerers and wise men of Egypt do the same miracle many times over. The enemy showed himself the same way that God did. He also was involved, he also spoke, and he also had some power. You and I know there is no comparison but in the moment the enemy was louder in his game of copycat.
As continue reading in Exodus Pharaoh’s guys can recreate the next two plagues! They turn water into blood and copy the plague of frogs. It’s not just irritating, it may have been a complete letdown for Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites. If I were one of them, I would have started wondering what the point of these miraculous plagues was. They may have been angry, embarrassed, or confused, and their faith may have been a little shaken.
Sure, God speaks, but the enemy loves to copy Him. He’s jealous and wants the glory and the followers. Sometimes we think we hear from God but it’s the enemy, or we ask the Holy Spirit a question, but it’s the enemy who answers. Sometimes we can tell right away and other times we run with the answer and end up in a mess. We are left confused and disappointed at best. We must ask for forgiveness from God and anyone we misled or hurt. We start to wonder what else we missed and whether we should ever trust what we think we hear from God.
There’s more to the Exodus story though and it doesn’t end with the enemy taking home the victory. The enemy may have made snakes too, but God’s snake is more powerful. The snake God made has authority. It uses its power and authority and consumes the enemy’s snake with no issue. The Egyptians may be able to turn water into blood in the next plague but something funny happens. They can’t turn the blood back into water. Pharaoh needs the men of God to do that. He also can’t get rid of the frogs. He asks Moses to pray to God for help.
The enemy can’t change what God says or does. He can copy, but He has no power over the moves and words of God. This is the same today as it was then. God speaks, the enemy speaks, but God still has his way. We can trust God to set things right when they go wrong and to teach us how to tell the difference between His voice and the enemy’s. He will also guide us as we learn to spot our own voice and imagination as well.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
John 10:27-30
Wasn’t the word talk at the beginning of this article irritating? Sure, it didn’t sound smart but it’s also because talk is not the correct word. The word speak is better. God speaks. Talk implies words only, out of one mouth and into another set of ears but God is so much more than a mouth and we are much more than ears. He speaks, His actions speak, His word speaks, His character speaks, His people speak, and all His creation speaks.
If God speaks in these subtle and varied ways to His people, then there is a good reason for it. We get low to the ground and listen closely for His footsteps. We think and think again and are driven straight to the Bible to work out what we suspect He is showing us. We get alone with Him and ask Him more questions and call our brothers and sisters in Christ and run it by them.
If we can hear the enemy speaking instead of God or we can’t trust ourselves to understand what He said, we should realize that reading the Bible is not foolproof either. The Word of God is foolproof just like the current spoken word, the problem just happens on our end. We have all read and misunderstood scripture even when we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and a stack of commentaries and studies. This is not a good reason to abandon scripture.
I don’t know of any godly people who would advise you to take a break from reading the Bible because you got mixed up on a passage and ran in the wrong direction. Let’s just celebrate that God revealed the mistake and knows how to use it for our good. We can’t give up on the Word of God, spoken, being spoken, or made flesh.
We keep learning, we keep listening, we keep looking, we keep feeling, and we humble ourselves before God and each other. We stay teachable and we stay in love with the One who is speaking life and love to us. We dust ourselves off when we hear wrong, apologize, forgive when others are wrong, and we press in again to all that God has for us.
2 responses to “When You Answer The Phone And It’s Not God”
Speak Lord, Your servant is listening.
I feel like we are all children, even though we have known God for years. He speaks and we are still surprised when we get it wrong. Like a child, I still need to practice listening and responding to his voice, promptings, and nudges. Nudge me some more, Lord.