Do you obey “The Voice?”
I was reading a book to my daughter tonight called The Voice. Written by R.W. Metlen, it is described as “a story about faith and trust.” While it is a kids book, the message extends to us all.
In it, a man is in a boat fishing, and a voice commands him to, “Follow me.” Of course, the man doesn’t, and gets mad at the voice for intruding. The boat begins to leak, the voice say, “Follow me,” and the man gets madder, and more stubborn. The voice says, “Follow me. I love you.” The man stews. The boat begins to sink, the man is afraid, but decides to listen to the voice and follow. He is saved and walks to safety on the water.
Obviously, the voice is God’s, and the man is representative of all of us. We all get complacent in our lives, happy for things to continue. But that is not how we can best serve Him. Perhaps we best serve him when we venture into the uncomfortable and depend on Him to lead us, depend on His voice to speak to us.
And sometimes God speaks to us and we miss it. Or maybe we just don’t want to hear it. I’m reminded of an old joke:
A man is drowning in the sea. A man in a rowboat comes by and says, “I’ll save you.” The drowning man replies, “No thanks, God will save me.” A fishing boat comes by and offers to save the man, but he says “No thanks, God will save me.” Finally, a cruise liner goes by and throws the man a life preserver. “No thanks, God will save me,” the man answers.
Soon, the man drowns.
He goes to Heaven and comes before God. “I trusted you to save me,” the man says. “Why didn’t you answer my prayers?”
God responds, “I sent you a rowboat, a fishing boat and a cruise liner. What were you expecting?”
We want God to fit into a little box, one that will come out when and where we want it, respond to our prayers in the manner we request (or demand!). We have all achieved an amazing ability to block out the voice of God when He wants us to do something that we don’t want to do, or if we are “fat and happy” in our lives the way they are. What would our world be like if no one answered the voice of God when it calls? How many lives would be lost to an eternity apart from God, were it not for ministers, missionaries and others who hear and follow God’s voice.
This book is great for kids, but the message is one all of us need to learn and remember.
For reviews on the book The Voice, follow this link:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0809105276?showViewpoints=1
November 21st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Thank you for this great information!
May 26th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
I was reading a book to my daughter tonight called The Voice. Written by R.W. Metlen, it is described as “a story about faith and trust.” While it is a kids book, the message extends to us all.