Yes, I purposely misquoted the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” Why? Because I’m not so sure it’s true. Lately I’ve seen words have a pretty profound impact—most of it not in a good way. But God, in His goodness, has brought me to Hebrews for a season. There is a boat load of truth packed into this book, but here is what’s hitting me in this first chapter: God spoke. And He spoke in word and action.

He spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
He has spoken to us by his Son.
He upholds the universe by the word of his power.

And then the writer of Hebrews restates some of the words that God had already spoken about Jesus in the Psalms:

He is God’s Son.
Let all the angels worship him.
His throne is forever.
He laid the foundation of the earth from the beginning.

God spoke. He was speaking from the beginning, “And God said…” He’s been speaking ever since. He’s been telling us the story of his Son—the one who was promised, the one who lived a perfect life, the one who gave that perfect life to save undeserving people.

He foretold the Story through the prophets.
He displayed the Story through the incarnate Christ.
He writes the Story on the tablet of our hearts.
He reminds us of the Story through His Word.
He continues the Story by the Spirit he placed in his people.

There are times when I just so badly want God to “speak” to me—to give me an answer to some specific problem, to make me feel better when something has me down. And now I realize, he has spoken by His Son who loves me—who loves me in word and in action.

Your Turn

• What have you been asking God to speak to you about?
• How have you been ignoring the ways in which he has already spoken? Have you been avoiding time in his Word, the community of believers, hearing his Word preached? Why?
• What voices have you been substituting for his voice?