The apostle John was sitting alone in exile just a few decades after Jesus walked the Earth when he had a vision of a great apocalypse. This is recorded in the book of Revelation in the Bible, and is certainly among the world’s most complex and controversial literature.
To describe the way much of the message came to him, John writes “I heard something like a voice.” Not very specific, wouldn’t you say?
People use phrases such as “God spoke to me” or “God said…” If that’s true, I’m happy for them, though I’ve personally never gotten an audible message. How encouraging that John, the recipient of this great revelation, had no good explanation for how God communicates. A vague analogy was the best he could do.
Life can get confusing. Temptations and fears creep in. I need God’s direction, wisdom, or often just the assurance that He’s there. And because He loves me, I can be confident that God will make Himself clear. I’ll simply hear His voice, or something like that.
Hearing, seeing, touching. We will always fail to perceive God through our senses because He is beyond them. The good news is that we can feel Him if we carve out the quiet time to withdraw ourselves from our senses and hear the divine music within us. Sometimes out on a run, in prayer or meditation, or during that mystical state between sleep and waking up, I hear “something like a voice” and I know His informing spirit is at work in my life.