The Need For The Father's Voice

If there is one thing that we are living under in these days, in terms of difficulties that are spelled out in the Scriptures, I believe it is the curse of Malachi chapter 4. This section of the Bible declares that a very important spiritual dynamic must be released as the present age comes to a close, or else we will find ourselves in a boatload of trouble. Malachi says that the spirit of Elijah must be released, the effect of which will be to turn the hearts of fathers and children toward one another in an expression of reconciliation and healing. If that dynamic does not happen, there will be a curse that will strike the land. That curse is the reality of our day – the brokenness of relationship between children and fathers, and even more significant, the brokenness of connection with God, Who is the ultimate Father with Whom every person must be reconciled.

Here’s why this need for the Father’s voice is so profound. Every individual is defined by the input that comes to them through significant other voices, most profoundly, the voice of the father. As much as we may protest in our current state that we are autonomous, that it is up to us to validate and authenticate our own existence, it is simply not true. The history of every individual is filled with voices that define us, some positive, some negative. Every individual has an internal awareness that they ought to be someone special, that someone ought to care about them, and that someone authoritative must declare their worth to them so they can step into their destiny.

I recently read an article about Tony Dungy, who is a Christian, and a former NFL football player and Super Bowl winning player and coach. He is having a profound impact in the lives of a number of visible athletes, speaking into their lives as a father-figure, helping shape and define their self-images so that they can live effectively. The reason that Tony is successful at this is because Christians believe that we can have a relationship with the ultimate Father, Who is the creator God. This Father God thought all these individuals up in the first place, defined them, and set before them a journey of discovery into the identity that would resonate with how He made them to live.

Without a relationship with God, there is no hope of connecting with true identity, since He alone holds the information, and He alone has the ability and willingness to communicate that information with truth and trustworthiness. What we have done in our culture is insisted that our young people come from nothing – there is no Father’s voice out there, we’re all here by chance, and it’s up to us to make something out of our lives. As long as we validate and authenticate our existence by what we do, all is well.

The problem with that is that there is no value system in such a culture that gives a reference point concerning whether that authentication process is good or bad. There can be no good or bad, because we’ve eliminated the reference points of truth by which good or evil can be measured. Therefore, the gang-banger and the missionary are equally valid, because no one can say whether their choices are right or wrong – just that we happen to prefer one over the other.

Thankfully, the universe does not really operate like that. There is a God Who is infinite, personal, and good, and Who communicates truthfully about important things like destiny and purpose. He is speaking continually – through nature, through the Scriptures, through His Son Jesus Christ – and anyone who desires to hear Him can begin to learn how. This God meets the need of every human being, because His is the Father’s voice that we long to hear. Those who listen to Him can not only discover the meaning of their own lives, and begin to walk it out, but can also listen on behalf of others – like Tony Dungy for Michael Vick and others. Any human father or mother or sibling or friend or acquaintance or total stranger can listen for the voice of God, and speak truth over the life of a child, a friend, or a stranger. God desires relationship, and is quite willing to speak to His friends about others that He loves so they might be drawn into the same relationship.

When these friends of God listen, and then speak according to what the Father reveals, the words resonate with the inherent reality that each person holds inside their secret heart. If they will listen, the voice of the Father will awaken them to life and reality, and the curse will begin to be reversed.

All this is possible because of what God did through His Son, Jesus Christ – the One the Bible talks about. But that’s a topic for another day.

Gary Wiens