Part Four - Why Can’t I See Or Hear God? Series

1Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.” 13But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

Exodus 3:1 - 15 (NRSV)

Sometimes it’s better to not know what we’re dying to know.

A frog telephoned a psychic hotline and asked about his love life.

The psychic predicted, “You are going to meet a beautiful woman who will want to get to know the inner you.”

“That’s great,” said the frog, “When will I meet her?”

“Next year, in her biology class.” [1]

It’s much more comfortable (and much safer) to have a god you can see and hear, than a dangerous, invisible god – one you always have to wonder what he’s up to and where he’s lurking. That’s because it’s our nature. It’s a matter of control. We want to be able to see and understand; we feel safer that way.

This is one of the reasons why people create their own gods (idols), whether it’s a hand carved piece of wood or stone, or astrology tables, or science or rational thought – having a god that only fits within what you can see and comprehend is having a controllable god; not dangerous – but totally useless.

Jehovah God, being mysterious, huge, invisible and all-powerful (in charge), is also one of the reasons some people reject outright the very notion of there being a god at all. The reasoning is, “if I can’t be in charge, nobody’s going to be in charge. I want to be my own god.” (Incidentally – this was Lucifer’s thing; he said, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God….I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:13-14).

So, create God or be God – these are the only two choices other than serving the true and living God. As Scripture shows us, attempting to sit on God’s throne isn’t a good idea; the job was filled before eternity began!

God made us with a natural curiosity so that we would look for Him. We have, as theologians have reminded us, a god-shaped hole in our hearts. We are incomplete, restless, until we rest in Him. [2]