A Reflection on the Voice of God
by LewisI received an e-mail this afternoon from a group called the 168 Hour Film Project. I’ve written some things about them before, but this was not about them. This was a call for prayers for a fellow who is a friend of 168, whose voice you have all heard, whose face you may have seen, who is the king of the voice-over artists, a man named Don LaFontaine.
Don has a blood clot lodged in his lung, something that happened the day after he had been taken to the hospital for shortness of breath. Apparently he is making some progress, but he is far from out of the woods, according to the note, so use your breath to say a little prayer for Don.
Interestingly, many people have said that Don’s voice is “the voice of God.” Some have even gone so far as to say that God would *like* to have a voice as rich as Don’s, though I’m guessing God doesn’t have to worry about that. But here is a man now who is using whatever voice he has, audible or not, to cry out to God for mercy and healing. And here is a man who is not straining his voice to speak, but is straining his ears to hear the real voice of God.
How will he know when he hears it? Will it be the canyon-like depths of the tone? Will it be the amazing resonance? Will it be the precise expression and inflection? Elijah may have thought so at first, but he taught us that those qualities may not indicate God is speaking. The quality that will be present, however, whether the voice is like thunder or like a soft breeze, is authority.
There is a certainty in God’s voice, a knowing, a truth, a beauty not based on sound, but based on the source. When you hear that voice, you will know it is the voice of God.
May your ears, and heart, be open to it.
August 30th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
You’re right — I didn’t know a thing about Don LaFontaine, but I sure recognized his voice. It’s a skill to recognize people’s voices. Even without Caller ID I can recognize most of my acquaintances when they call me just by hearing them say, “hello.”
Recognizing God’s voice is also a skill, I believe. It takes a knowledge of his character, a desire to understand his ways, practice at talking to him AND hearing him, and willingness to compare your expectations with the actual events. Over time, you begin to realize when you’ve misheard or misassigned the voice.
This is the work of a lifetime.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
Sadly for us, Don LaFontaine — who had been recovering at the time of my original post — died to this earth on September 1 from complications in the treatment of his illness. He is survived by his wife, Nita Whitaker, and three daughters.
I am confident that Don and his Heavenly Father are now enjoying each other’s voices in a whole new way.