When God Shouts

It's the still small voice of the Lord we are told over and over to listen for, the voice you must train your heart to hear. Often I've longed for God to shout to me what he wants me to do, be or think. It's the voice I love to hear and to my shame don't hear often enough. When I do hear it I am grateful. It has taken years to get to a place where I can hear him more often, more clearly. But still I've often wished I could turn up God's volume.

Then this morning happened.

It's Christmas time, so I was listening to Christmas music during my morning commute. The second verse of Do You Hear What I Hear? stopped me in my tracks, so to speak, I was still driving.
Here are the lyrics:
Do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
So I thought, no, God's voice is small and still, but it could be as big as the sea. I'm always telling my nieces and nephews that God's love is as big as he is, as big as the entire universe. But he whispers to us. Why? Then I thought about the one time God's voice was raised to a shout, when Jesus on the cross cried out "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" What followed was shattering. Earthquakes, the dead being raised out of their graves, the temple curtain rent in two. Did you know that scholars have studied that curtain and its making? That curtain wasn't some simple gauzy linen thing. It was a thick woolen hanging, as thick as two inches, maybe more. Only God could tear something in two with his voice. After all, that's what he used to create the world, he spoke us into being. I realized that if God were to shout at me I would be undone. Molecularly unmade. Gone.

I will be content then, with whispers, I will be grateful that he, The Lord of the Universe, speaks to this lowly woman at all. When I am in heaven I will ask God if we can hear his creating voice, I imagine it is unimaginably wonderful. (I've always loved the thought that God, like C.S. Lewis's Aslan, created the world with song. But really, his voice will be the most melodious and lovely voice we will ever hear.)

Below I've included the lyrics for the whole song.
Have a holly jolly Christmas!
May you know the blessings of Jesus!

Do You Hear What I hear?
Said the night wind to the little lamb,
do you see what I see
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
do you see what I see
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
do you know what I know
In your palace warm, mighty king,
do you know what I know
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring Him silver and gold
Let us bring Him silver and gold

Said the king to the people everywhere,
listen to what I say
Pray for peace, people everywhere!
listen to what I say
The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light
by Hans Christian Anderson