Your conscience is God’s voice to you

What would you do if, during a conversation with a stranger, you suddenly realized you were speaking with an incognito angel?

This is less far-fetched a scenario than you might imagine. Paul mentioned how, in addition to ministering seen and unseen, angels also minister in disguise as mortal men:

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:2)

What if, during your conversation, you suddenly realized you were speaking with the Creator of the universe?

This is also a less far-fetched scenario than you might imagine. During his mortal ministry, the Lord had a conversation with a woman who didn’t realize that he was the Messiah she believed would come one day. Consider how Jesus replied to the woman’s expressed longing to hear the voice of the Messiah:

25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4)

What would it be like if God spoke to you? What would it be like if it happened more than once? What if it happened on a regular basis? As unbelievable as it may seem, this is exactly the case. In fact, not only has God spoken to you, and not only does he do so regularly, he is doing so all the time. At every moment, in every situation, God is speaking to you.

The reason you haven’t realized this until now is because you have only thought of God’s voice in terms of an audible voice from another (such as when your friend speaks to you) or in terms of an internal voice (such as when you talk to yourself). God also speaks in both of these ways, but under more limited circumstances.

The truth is, God does speak in an audible voice. He does so today as he always did, on the same conditions.¹ However, just as he always has, he tends to speak audibly only with those who first listen to his voice through their conscience.

It is a mistake to believe—as most do—that it would be easier to obey God were he to speak plainly to you. Plainness accelerates the progress of the meek, but it does so at the cost of greater condemnation for the disobedient. As Jesus taught in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, those who are unwilling to hear his voice through more subtle channels are unwilling to hear his voice through plainer channels (see Luke 16:19-31). Subtlety is merciful, as it provides a step higher—albeit at a slower pace—with lesser consequences for disobedience than plainness.

Theophanies do occur, but you need not wait for some theophany— your conscience is God’s voice to you, and he is already speaking to you.

God’s primary voice to you is through your conscience. Your conscience is God’s voice to you. It is just as authoritative, just as right, and just as real as if he were to speak in any other way; the only difference is how readily you ignore it.