The Voice of God

I bring to meeting for worship the intention that God will speak to me. In the silence I ask for it. And I wait in trepidation for an answer.  I am aware that even though it is my greatest wish to receive a message from a burning bush in the manner of Moses -- this is unlikely to happen.  
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While there is some disappointment in the experience of never having had a "burning bush moment" I think I am blessed to 'hear' the voice of God in other unexpected ways. 

Let me explain.  

Humans, unlike all other creatures (that we are aware of -- and I hope to be proved wrong in this) have capacities that make us uniquely able to connect with the Almighty.  We are self-aware, reflective, and have a conscience.  Of these three, the last may be our most valuable asset in connecting with the divine. If listened to it is the perfect internal compass.  Among Quakers, we speak about listening to that small voice inside.  

Interestingly, all religious traditions have the notion of honoring one's conscience and following one's deeply held beliefs.  Is it such a far stretch to acknowledge that this impulse might be the voice of the divine calling upon us?  Our very own burning bush! 

I think not, but do we bother to listen?  

Messages can be VERY INCONVENIENT TRUTHS.  Circling back to Moses, it took forty years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus to receive the tablets on Mt. Sinai.  OMG!! 

To be sure, it is far easier to listen to and walk a path that the media, or the government, or your parents, or your friends have laid out before you.  That path is well worn and will cause very little friction in your life.  The problem is that THAT PATH is about as authentic as fake fruit (looks good, but does not satisfy). 

The queries that pique my conscience today are: 

• Where have I shut out the messages of God? 
• What is inconvenient for me to listen to? 
• How am I developing my conscience? 
• How do I deaden my conscience? 
• Am I open to the voice of God in my life? 
• Will I sit at the table that God has laid before me? 

Joseph Olejak 

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