1 May

Translating God

posted by Daniel Blackaby

I really respect and admire anyone who is multi-lingual. What an amazing talent! Unfortunately I have also come to realize I will never be that person. Early in the semester, my seventh grade French teacher kindly “suggested” that I drop his French class and take another option instead. Expressing that maybe the French language “isn’t for everybody,” he quickly added that I had “a long list of talents…but French is not on that list.” All aspirations of becoming the next ambassador to France came to an abrupt halt in that moment.

Perhaps it is this massive lack of linguistic talent that made a recent experience so amazing to me. I was asked to fill-in on drums for the weekly youth worship service at my church, and I gladly agreed. The service was going really well, until we reached group sharing time.

The first hand that went up was Lindsay’s and I felt a tension in my chest. Lindsay is an extremely sweet and beautiful fifteen-year old who regularly attends youth events. She was also born with a serious muscle-deteriorating disease, which makes it hard for her to form her words correctly. This was apparent as soon as she started sharing – not a single word was recognizable. I was a mess. How would the youth pastor even be able to respond to her! I was dreading the awkward moment that was sure to arrive when she finished talking.

As Lindsay finished speaking there was immediately a tense moment of silence. I couldn’t take it anymore! In an attempt to bail out our poor youth pastor I stood up and opened my mouth to share…but then a soft voice cut through the silence.

My eyes followed the voice to a young girl sitting in the back. It was Jamie, Lindsay’s younger sister. As she continued to talk I realized she wasn’t sharing about herself. She was translating, word for word, what Lindsay had just said. I embarrassingly sat back down. I was in shock! I had not recognized a single word of her request, but somehow Jamie was repeating it back with zero difficulty. How?!?!

I’ll admit, I struggled to keep up my macho-male dignity, and had to fight to keep in the tears. I realized what a special relationship those two sisters had. Jamie probably hadn’t always understood Lindsay; but over the years they had spent together, they had developed a unique communication bond.

Many times I’ve talked to Christian friends who had grown frustrated and confused, unable to understand what God was telling them. It seemed like they were always praying, but never hearing an answer. I’ve come to realize that hearing from God isn’t like learning French. (Hallelujah!!)

Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). A shepherd spends years walking among his sheep and they learn to recognize his voice. God’s voice cannot be learned from a Sunday school lesson, or from a spiritual self-help, five easy steps list. Just as sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice, we will learn to recognize God’s voice as we spend time with Him, praying and reading His Word. Whenever I begin to sense I have not been hearing God speak lately, that is my cue to spend more time getting to know Him, and listening.

Filed in: Relationship, Responding to God