A Loving Voice
I don’t doubt that God speaks. I don’t doubt that God speaks to me.
I doubt that He speaks kindly. Ultimately, I doubt that He speaks in love.
As a practice, I want to go through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. I want to cast light on doubt’s shadows. I invite you to pray and process through this passage with me.
We understand from 1 John 4:8 that God is love. Therefore, His character is all of these things that we are about to unpack. He cannot speak from any other place than love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
He is infinitely more patient with me than I am with myself. While I am busy throwing a tantrum in my inner world, He is watching and waiting. He is believing the best about me. While I am kicking up a dust cloud of all that I ought to be and all that I am not, He sees me complete, dancing in all that He created me to be.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
So often I enter time with God expecting Him to bring up my past failures. I wait for Him to highlight my pitfalls. Wait. Where did I learn that? Why do I go to Him for a slap on the wrist? I don’t approach any other relationship like that. Recently, He revealed to me that this mindset actually hurts His feelings, while also being fundamentally flawed. That is not the relationship He died for us to have. That is not the relationship we have built together. He keeps no record of wrongs. They have no place in our time together, in His voice.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
The Message reads, “Love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.” God’s voice brings beauty and delight to truth. He is cheering me on into all truth. I love the visual of the “flowering of truth.” I beat myself up because I do not understand everything right now. I take heart because truth is blooming within me. I take heart because God is determined to lead me. He is my Shepherd and he always perseveres.
In each line, I bolded the phrase that is hardest for me to believe. I challenge you to do the same. Read through 1 Corinthians 13 in light of how you currently believe God speaks to you. Let the drastic differences rise to the surface. I promise, your spirit will delight in the truth. He is so much better than we think. We get to continue to be surprised by His kindness, His love… His voice.
