Exodus 20:18-20 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”
In the days of the wilderness wanderings, the children of Israel trembled in the sight of God … and said to Moses, “You go and speak to God for us; and we will listen to you”. However, in these days, we can’t be like the children of Israel and say to someone else … “Go and speak to God for me, and tell me what the Lord is saying!” And though we don’t ignore prophetic voices, (we test them), if we are born again and have His Holy Spirit, we can receive communication direct… from the Lord, Himself. With troubles and dangers on the rise, we each need to cultivate a sensitivity to His Spirit, the ability to hear His inner voice. No, I’m not talking (necessarily) about an audible voice, but a spiritual sensitivity that will navigate us around the landmines which surround us.
A dramatic personal example: When I initially moved to Israel I was nearly in a bus bombing. It was an early morning as I was heading to Hebrew class in 2004. As I was about to board the bus I normally rode, something within prompted me not to enter that bus. It seemed that, suddenly, I found myself on another bus that actually dropped me off much further away from where I needed to go. But just as I was wondering to myself, “Why am I on this bus?”, the bus I normally rode blew up, a mere 100 meters in front of me.
What prompted me to stay off that bus? I cannot explain, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the Spirit of God was responsible.
The Holy Spirit saved my life that day. Is it possible I could have ignored His prompting and boarded a disaster? I believe it was…but somehow, I listened, and obeyed the voice of the Lord. Thank God I was sensitive to it. Just like Israel in those days of “Intifada”, turbulent times are upon us, and while we may be hearing many prophetic voices claiming to mediate God’s word to us, we need to be able to recognize and be sensitive to His voice for ourselves. He promised to be with us (and in us) to the end of the age, and for many, He will give divine guidance and protection from disaster, if we hear, and obey His prompting.