Daddy God’s Relatable Communication Style

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see an almond branch.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it’” (Jer. 1:11-12, ESV)

Daddy makes His communication relatable for us. Here we have the example of His intimate, personal communication with Jeremiah. To those of us who speak English primarily (or any language other than Hebrew), this dialogue does not make much sense. But to the prophet, it was a message that went right to his heart.

Here’s why. “Almond” is shaqed in Hebrew. “Watch” is shaqad. As you can see, these two words sound extremely similar in the original tongue. Daddy was using a play on words that would be meaningful to this beloved son. The almond tree was part of Jeremiah’s familiar world. Holy Spirit spoke through a personalized symbol so it would be easy for the prophet to grasp what He meant.

Herein lies an extremely important lesson to internalize about God’s communication style. He comes right to your level, right into your private world. He will speak to you in the symbols of your own heart. He will use language that is easy for you to comprehend. He will come onto images and pictures out of your own life experience. He takes responsibility to make His messages understandable to you.

I have a friend whose relatives work at Disney World. She has spent an extensive amount of time there as a result, and loves all things Disney. So Holy Spirit gave her a dream set in the context of the Magic Kingdom. In symbolic pictures, it spoke right to the heart of what was transpiring in her spiritual life at the time.

This principle is true of Daddy’s dream communication with us, and also of His waking communication with us. Take this for example: A few years ago, I had set aside a period of thirty days to seek Him earnestly about a vitally important decision I needed to make. This decision was going to have weighty implications for the rest of my life, so I told Him I needed something exceedingly clear. I asked for “writing on the wall.”

Not long afterwards, I was visiting another city. I went into a restaurant I’d never seen before and sat down. My eyes wandered around, taking in the décor. Suddenly, I noticed that the walls were covered with hand-written quotes and messages. Mind you, these were not framed. They were literally written onto the wall, creating a unique decorative style for this particular eatery. One of the sentences closest to me spoke exactly to the critical decision I was laying before the Lord. I could sense Him smiling, pleased with Himself, as He whispered to my heart, “There you have it. Your writing on the wall.”

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 expresses this truth about Daddy’s messages to us beautifully: “This commandment I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it too remote. It is not in heaven, as though one must say, ‘Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ And it is not across the sea, as though one must say, ‘Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it for us and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ For the thing is very near you – it is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it” (NET, bold emphasis mine).

His leading, His guidance, His voice, is not too difficult for you. It’s not too remote. It’s not far, far away. You don’t need someone else to reach God for you, and deliver His words to you. He takes extremely seriously His responsibility to make them accessible to you, His precious child. So they are very near you. They are in your mind. He deposits them directly into your thoughts, “so that you can do it.”

He comes right into your world. What do you spend your time on? You’ll find Him there, reaching out to you. If you like Instagram, He’ll speak to you through Instagram. If in a few years, you develop an affinity for a different social media outlet, He will switch to that one for you. If you love football, He’ll find a way to slip a message to you through the game, if you are looking for it. If you go to a certain store frequently, He’ll set up a message for you there. Always have a certain radio station on? Listen in for what He might say through the programming.

He literally is speaking to us throughout every day. We just need to develop spiritual eyes and ears that are paying attention.

“Anyone who has ears should listen!” (Matt 13:9, HCSB)

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How has God come into your personal world with His communication? What symbols meaningful to you alone has He used to speak to you?