The Sound of God's Voice
THE VOICE ON THE PHONE was not unfamiliar. She announced she had a message for me from God. I, as well as others, had heard her claim to be a prophetess. Since that gift is not emphasized in our congregation, and because of some unusual quirks of her personality, I considered her one of God's strange people who occasionally flow through a church family. Without pausing to inquire if I were interested, she launched into a detailed pronouncement that my wife, Julie, and I would soon suffer a divorce. I had neglected my wife, she said, and failed to build the kind of marriage relationship God intended for pastors. The penalty would be the forfeiture of my marriage. I knew enough not to laugh out loud or question her sanity or tell her what she could do with her message. I thanked her for calling and hung up. Could God really be speaking through her? What if she were right? Does God still speak through prophets and prophetesses today? What would they sound like if he did? Would be ever choose someone like her? The pages of Scripture are filled with stones of unusual people who did strange things under the guise of "Thus saith the Lord." But there was some truth in what she said. What pastor ever spends enough time with his family? Julie and I talked often about the sacrifices of ministry—not the least of which were the sacrifices we made in our marriage. We knew that when outside pressures demanded our full attention, we could put our marriage on hold for weeks at a time, knowing the immediate pressures would not last forever. When things settled down, a few days of conscious recovery brought quick healing and restoration. Nevertheless, few marriages are strong enough to withstand many of those times without some damage. Had we put ...
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