When God speaks, do you just hear it thundering?

Text: John 12:27-36

John 12 records Jesus' final plea for the people to believe in Him. God even speaks audibly in verse 28. This is the third and final time the Father speaks directly from heaven about Jesus. The text informs us it is for the disciples' benefit (v. 30), testifying to the Father's seal of approval upon Jesus’ saving work.

Some in the crowd heard a noise but thought that it had thundered. Others thought it was an angel speaking to Jesus. Unbelievers misinterpret God's voice, showing their spiritual deafness.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." Faith is required to access the things of God. Biblically, faith is having confidence in something you have not experienced with your senses (see Hebrews 11). Biblical faith is not “blind”; it’s not the act of “believing without a reason.” Just the opposite; biblical faith is the act of believing in something unseen for which we do have a good reason.

When a person attempts to "figure out" the things of God without humbly reaching out for grace, it's like trying to tune a radio to a station in the middle of Antarctica.  All you get is static.

Take time this week to sincerely thank God for His grace. Thank Him for the faith He gave you to believe the gospel (Ephesians 2:8-9). Ask God to give you more grace to live fully committed to the glory of God, following in the steps of Jesus.