I Can Hear the Sound

I CAN HEAR THE SOUND OF THE RIVER COMING DOWN

My husband and I took a long walk down a dry riverbed recently. As we made our way over boulders and occasionally visited the dirt trails nearby, we spoke of the tower of Babel and the Nimrod who instigated the feat of proving that his power might be as great as God's. Why did he long to achieve something so ambitious...reaching heaven? We spoke of Josephus, the great historian of Christ's time, and how he described Nimrod as being Noah's great-grandson. I suppose it makes sense that Nimrod took great offense at this God who had wiped out his ancestors and brought destruction on the earth. In losing a grateful heart and appreciation for the way that God spared his great-grandfather and his children, Nimrod gave himself over to bitterness at what God had failed to do. Perhaps he wanted to go up to Heaven and punch God in the face, avenging his great-great grandfather and the rest of humanity who perished in the flood. The great hunter, whose name means "we will rebel," came into agreement with Lucifer's philosophy:
Isaiah 14
13"But you said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.'"
As history records, God confused their languages, causing the people to be unable to understand each other, therefore, unable to accomplish the attempt to outdo God.

I began to ponder the sound that arose as people became frightened and horrified by their inability to understand one another. I can imagine them looking at the person next to them, eyes wide with fear and desperation as they tried to communicate. Perhaps people went crazy, thinking they might be the one who had gone mad. What was happening? Can you imagine the panic that must have set in? As the horror took over, the sound of desperation must have risen, loudly into the air. It was the sound of selfish, rebellious humanity going up...now desperate for the sound of Heaven to come and rescue them. Certainly, those who had despised this "unfair" God must have, instantly, found a hunger in themselves to hear the words of the One they had rejected.

There is a sound that all of creation is longing for. I have known far too many people who, in a season of disillusionment with God, decided to take things into their own hands and make their own way to happiness and success...only to find themselves in a dark place, feeling alone, frightened, and desperate to hear the voice of God. I, myself, have experienced falling into a place of doubt, fear and questioning...even challenging God, shaking my fist at Him and shouting at Him, "where were You??!!" Thankfully, I am not in that place now. I shudder when I think of those moments. But the amazing thing in all of it is that God faithfully stood by and kept His promises even when I could not see it. He kept His hand of love, compassion, mercy, and grace on me as my heart rebelled and my mind fought battles that could have destroyed me.

I do not understand God, but I do know His ways. I may not always like His ways, but when I get to the end-result of His ways, I am pretty sure I will like them. So mysterious. So faithful. So not nice sometimes, yet so incredibly loving. If you don't believe that He is not always nice, read the Gospels and you will see that Jesus did not always appear to be very compassionate, for example, He told a blind man to come to Him. How rude is that? Shouldn't Jesus have gone to the man Himself? He was rude to the Syrophonician woman who refused to be offended, and pressed in until she got her miracle.

In the midst of the confusion of this present day, in the midst of moments of doubt and anxiety, press in...press your ear to His heart and listen for the river that is coming down. He promised that rivers of living waters would flow from us. It is His power and love that He desires to pour into you and out of you. Are you thirsty? Are you weary? Listen. I can hear the sound of the rivers coming down.