For thus the Lord said to me:
Isaiah is a book of prophecy; Isaiah is proclaiming what God has spoken to him. It’s largely about the decimation and rebuilding of the nations in region: Ethiopia, Assyria, Arabia, Israel. And although I don’t necessarily understand each prophecy or the importance of the specific woes thrown down on each, I understand the idea that God speaks.
The accompanying reflection is from a 12th century monk, and I’m startled by the relevance of his words. He writes, “There is no need to make an effort to hear this voice. The difficulty is to shut your ears to it. The voice speaks up; it makes itself heard; it does not cease to knock on everyone’s door.” This is a more eloquent way of something I borrowed from the Borg, whenever talking about discernment of God’s voice. “Resistance is futile”.
I genuinely believe that when we strive to hear God’s voice, we can catch a glimmer in the most interesting places. From a particular sunset, a friend’s counsel, or birds or coins on the ground. We hear God calling us to stay where we are, or to move on.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a voice that I thought, hmm, that was God’s vocal chords, or God’s whisper. And yet, there have been times when I did sense God’s desire for me. And once that happens, resistance is, in fact, futile. The voice does not cease knocking on everyone’s door.
There is a danger with this, too. One of the symptoms of schizophrenia is delusions of grandeur, and they often involve hearing God’s voice telling them to do something wacky or dangerous. While I don’t suffer from that brain disease, I mention that symptom because if God is talking to me inside my head, how do I know if it’s a delusion or God? I believe it’s God, but so does someone having delusions. Likewise, if God is telling you to do something, how do I know it’s really God or a delusion?
I believe the knocking persists, whether it’s really God, or a delusion, or a bad dream, or a misinterpretation. Our challenge is to figure out what’s true. At one point, when I thought I knew what God wanted me to do, I talked with a spiritual companion who offered great advice. She said that if I think something is God’s will, and I tell others, I can gauge the genuineness from their reaction. If I relay something that I believe to be God’s will for me, the more it resonates for outsiders, I can take that to be truer. Of course, that presumes my friends are not delusional too.
Ultimately, I agree with Bernard of Clairvaux. The voice speaks up, and continues knocking. The hard thing is to plug our ears. The other hard thing is to discern whether it is truly God’s will, or our own prideful or delusional imaginings.
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