A Voice Magnified

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Mark 10:47

When praise and worship begin to flow, it is often met with a quietness that sweeps over the room. I can’t really explain how the combination of a voice lifted to Heaven can be greeted with the serenity of God’s delight, but I know deep down that something eternal takes over in these precious seconds.

I was thinking about this divine overtaking yesterday and was reminded of the story of Bartimaeus in the book of Mark. We know he was blind and happened to be on the roadside in Jericho one day when Jesus walked by. The remarkable encounter took place, because his voice was magnified so far above the crowd that it met the ear of Jesus and His heart responded at once. The Bible tells us that when Bartimaeus began to cry out for Jesus, he was hushed by those around him. How fascinating that everyone around him heard the sound of begging, but to Jesus it was the sound of worship.

In my first year of Bible college, the Holy Spirit fell in our classroom one night. The sound of wailing, weeping, and travail filled the place. At one point it was so loud, I could not even hear how the Holy Spirit was expressing Himself through me. Then I began to get a vision of wet footprints that I sensed I was supposed to share. Because it was so loud and my voice is so quiet, I knew I would not be able to overcome the volume on my own. As I knelt on the floor, the prayer language of my teacher washed over me and as she was speaking in Heaven’s language, I heard my name. The Holy Spirit was letting me know He was ready to speak the moment I got the courage to meet Him there. I told Him there’s no way I’ll be heard, because it seemed as if it was only getting louder. Immediately, He blanketed the room in silence. I was stunned, but knew He created a moment for me to communicate His heart, so I honored Him and spoke out the words He was saying one by one.

On my drive home that night, I could not get over everything that happened and knew something had shifted inside my spirit. I was marveling at how the Holy Spirit could take one voice and project it above a large group of people so that it could be heard by every heart in the room. I was astonished by the way He could bring silence and stillness over a multitude in the blink of an eye. And I was overwhelmed by the words He would speak that could penetrate between soul and spirit, joints and marrow … and reveal the thoughts and intentions of every heart. How great is our God!

So, in the times when we feel like we might never be heard by God and the crowd has pushed us to the outskirts of where we know He is moving, just remember that He knows the sound of your voice. Just remember that the Holy Spirit can magnify your words above the whole universe and get them right where they need to be. And don’t ever forget, the footsteps of our Jesus pause when He hears His holy name coming from your lips. And trust that He will remove the distance of every person between you and Him, until His eyes meet yours and your worship makes a way for His glory to be revealed once more.