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Daily Devotion: John 18:4-6

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John 18:4-6    "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?  (5)  They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.  (6)  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."

In these verses, we can truly see Jesus is the Sovereign Lord.  He knew everything that was about to take place. He showed His power even through His voice.  Let's focus on His voice for a moment. The Psalmist declared, "The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty." (Psalm 29:4)  Just how powerful is that voice? Let's think about some of His sayings.

In Creation:
(Genesis 1:3)    "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." 
When He sent Abram to Canaan:
(Genesis 12:1)    "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee"   What did Abram do?  (Genesis 12:4)    "So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him."
When He was sending Moses back to Egypt:
(Exodus 4:10-11)    "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. (11) And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?"

Now let's go to the New Testament.
When Jesus was at the wedding in Cana and they ran out of wine:
(John 2:7-8)    "Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim  (8)  And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it." What was the result of Jesus' miracle?  "Thou hast kept the good wine until now." (John 2:10) 
And one last example is probably the best known of hearing the voice of the Lord.  As Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus, we can hear His voice:
(John 11:43)    "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth."   What was the result?   "And he that was dead came forth."  (John 11:44)

Why am I spending so much time on examples of the Lord's voice?  Notice what took place in this scene. Judas brought the soldiers to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew Jesus went there often to pray.  As they approached our Lord, Jesus asked, "Whom seek ye?"  They answered Him, Jesus of Nazareth.  "Jesus saith unto them, I am he."  What was the result?  "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."  The voice of the Lord is powerful and full of majesty!

Why should I, or anyone, be afraid of hearing the voice of the Lord?  He always brings about that which is best for us. Even when He uproots and sends to a new land. Yes, even when He sends us on a task that seems much too large for us.  When no one else can help, the voice of the Lord brings life from death.  He is worthy of our praise and He is worthy of our attention when He speaks to us.  How do we go about listening to Him?  I do believe He speaks to us every single day. But most of us have become so busy and have tuned our hearts and minds to listen to the world's voice that we need to hone ourselves back to the place of listening to the Lord. What does that require?  "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)    Maybe we should practice the presence of the Lord in our lives.

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