Mike Focht 1/30/2026
God will always have a voice. It should be a great comfort for ordinary saints to recognize that God speaks in every dispensation, era, culture, and place. The sound of His voice, the source of His voice, the tone of His voice, and the message spoken may change, but the fact of His speaking will remain.
Before I continue, let me say that I fully believe the only safe place we can know the truth about God is the Word of God. His inspired and infallible revelation of truth is complete; no one can add or take away from that revelation with impunity. That being said, the application and delivery of truth to kings and common folk is what changes. The truth remains eternal, but the vessel and the particular emphasis of truth change. You and I must be familiar with the Word of God so that we can correctly discern His voice as it echoes through the world.
Our problem is discerning God’s voice from the others. The danger of listening to the wrong voice began when Satan hissed into the lives of Adam and Eve. Since the fall of man, Satan has worked to expand his voice with an army of cunning voices to cover, blind, and deceive men away from God’s voice. Satan is an expert in convincing unwitting men and women to spread a message that he knows will work in opposition to the thrust of God’s message to His people in their particular day and age.
Eve echoed a voice that was not her own, and the fall of man quickly ensued. This continued in Israel’s history as Satan’s voice—his blatant lies and heresies—was spread by false priests, false prophets, and false followers of God. His strategic deceptions extend even to those who desire to be good men but are carried away by the influence of worldly wisdom or pride, men like Job’s friends, the Pharisees, Peter, and the other disciples.
If we are careless in discerning God’s voice, our greatest danger is not merely missing out on what He has to say but becoming an unwittingly active promoter of Satan’s voice! So Job’s friends became miserable comforters that needed Job’s intercession, the Pharisees fulfilled God’s Word by crucifying the One that they waited for, Christ rebuked Peter for promoting a satanic denial of the cross, and the disciples desired to call down fire, argued over greatness, and echoed the murmuring spirit of Judas—the thief and satanic tool of Christ’s betrayal.
I fear that the danger of becoming a tool for Satan, like these men before us, is even more magnified in the world in which you and I live. There are so many voices out there! Every day, we are bombarded with messages intended to subvert our minds and hearts. Technology, media, and the internet have created a platform for anyone to say something, but the question remains: Whose voice are we really hearing?
In the cacophony of voices, God will always be speaking. He spoke before anything ever was. He sent His prophets into the world to speak through word and action. He spoke through godly men, kings, prophetesses, farmers, shepherds, and fishermen. He even spoke through bad men who were themselves His unwitting servants, such as Balaam, Saul, and Caiaphas. Ultimately and finally, He has spoken through His own Son. He speaks through His Word in the power of His Spirit. God’s voice is among us. Are we hearing Him? Do we even care to? God’s people today are in danger of becoming like Israel before us!
God spoke to Jeremiah, saying: Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they did not obey Me, or inclined their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God, nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth (7:28).
God will speak even when men refuse to listen. We must seek out the Samuels, Nathans, Deborahs, Micaiahs, Elijahs, Jeremiahs, John the Baptists, Annas, Peters, and Pauls of our day. We must pray that God will raise up holy men and women among us who have His Word burning in their hearts. By the grace of God, you and I will be found in their illustrious company! And if God can no longer find a man or woman to be the ambassador of His message, then may He send an angel, an enemy, or a donkey.
We must also be aware that speaking for God reorients us in Satan’s strategies as it did with God’s previous servants and prophets. Do not be surprised if speaking for God becomes a door to conflict. Satan will criticize and slander any voice that is not echoing his. He will attack and persecute with fervor and venom to silence the truth. Echoing God’s voice will often result in the speaker being fed the bread and water of affliction.
Nevertheless, God will always have a voice! And the voice of God, wherever it is found, will produce both light and dark, hard sayings and sweet sayings, hate and love, ears that hear and ears that turn away, soft hearts and hard hearts, death, and life. It is the voice of God. Where can a man go to escape Him? Man will hear the words of eternal life.
Every day presents voices that we echo and heed, but ultimately, we are hearing and repeating the message of God or Satan. I find great comfort in this: it is not up to me to make God’s voice clear to the individual. Jesus promises to do that Himself. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.