Learning His Language
The Bible is how we learn the foreign language God speaks.
Scripture
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27
"Abide in me..." John 15
Reflection
When we read Scripture over and over, we aren't memorizing isolated verses. The Bible is not an instruction manual. It is the place we go to learn His language and character. We're learning His vocabulary, His priorities, His consistency, His justice, His mercy, His timing. Like spending years with our family or a close friend, eventually we recognize them by the way they speak.
Somewhere in the middle of the storm, something changed. It wasn't that God suddenly began speaking. Looking back, I believe He had always been communicating. I simply hadn't learned His language well enough to recognize His voice. Notice in John 10:27, Jesus doesn't say His sheep occasionally guess His voice. He says they know it.
The first time I recognized His voice, I wanted more. Not because one word wasn't enough, but because once you have heard the voice of your Father, nothing else satisfies in quite the same way. Yet I slowly learned that more comes in His perfect timing, not at my command. I don't find Him by running ahead in search of another word; I find Him by faithfully abiding in the last one He gave. He has never asked me to go rogue in pursuit of more—only to remain, trust, and wait. Stay where He last instructed. In His perfect timing, He has always been faithful to speak again.
I realized, as I continued getting to know Him, this wasn't unique to my journey. It is the pattern we see throughout Scripture.
Abraham waited.
Moses waited.
David repeatedly inquired of the Lord before moving.
The disciples waited in Jerusalem until the promised Spirit came.
God often gives enough light for the next faithful step—not the entire journey.
His voice speaks into the circumstance, and then it waits. The waiting is not silence born of absence; it is the place where trust grows. Abiding is remaining where He has already revealed Himself until He leads again.
It’s important to trust that we are never powerful enough to ruin God's plan for our lives. We may wander. We may delay. We may resist. But when we return to His last instruction, we discover He has not abandoned us. He has been faithfully waiting where truth has always been. He is never late. We are simply invited to trust Him enough to remain until He speaks again.
Returning to Truth
God’s Love is always available to us and ready to meet us where we are.
Just as an infant learns the language of home through constant exposure, our souls learn the language of heaven through immersion in Scripture.
It soon reassures us that it is not an instruction manual, but a source of comfort and wisdom from imperfect souls who bravely documented their shortcomings and redemption through His perfect grace.
Simple practice when feeling lost: return to His last instruction, abide there, and trust that He will speak again in His perfect timing.
Questions to Consider
Have you ever worried you have "missed God's will forever"?
Do you yearn to converse with Him as your trusted friend?
Prayer
Father,
Our souls yearn for Your perfect love. Help us to courageously seek to know You more deeply. Open our eyes and our hearts to Your wisdom and teach us Your language, that we may recognize Your voice, abide in Your truth, and follow wherever You lead.
Amen.
