The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

Psalm 29:3-4 NKJV

What does “the God of glory thunders” mean? I believe that the revelation the Lord gave me is that thunder in Scripture represents His audible voice. Let me share another Scripture with you which will bring even greater clarity:

Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning [or light] to the ends of the earth. After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, and does not restrain them when His voice is heard. God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

Job 37:2-5 NKJV

Upon receiving this revelation from the Lord, I wanted to be sure that my understanding was correct, so I prayed and asked the Lord to send me further confirmation. A few days later, the Lord spoke these words to me twice, “Father, glorify Your name.” “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Because the Lord spoke these words to me twice, I knew that He wanted me to read this passage of Scripture from John 12:27-30, and when I did so, I knew with certainty that He was giving me the confirmation that I had prayed for. Thank You Jesus.

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

John 12:27-30 NKJV

Many years ago, I believe that I heard the audible voice of God. It wasn’t an impression, or an internal audible voice (which I have heard many times), but instead it was an external audible voice that was quite loud (like thunder) and completely unexpected. It was nighttime and I was already in bed. I was at the lowest point in my life and was crying because I had finally reached the point where I had absolutely no hope or faith. I was depressed and I knew that in that moment that I had completely given up on life. It was then that I audibly heard these words, “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord.”

This was the only time that I had ever heard God audibly speak to me, and I think the reason He chose to speak to me this way was because I had given up completely. The two things I will never forget about that experience is firstly the authority with which He spoke, and secondly the words He said. It wasn’t a rebuke, instead I can honestly say that His words gave me hope again. He gave me the understanding that if I could just trust Him, a blessing would follow. My situation didn’t immediately change, but at least now I had hope. I chose to trust God, even though I didn’t understand, and even though I didn’t immediately get all the answers I wanted. Looking back now, He was faithful to His promise, because I came out of that trial abundantly blessed. Thank You Jesus!

From what I have learned so far, everything God teaches us through the trials we go thorough equips us so that we can be a blessing to others. As I mentioned earlier in this message, God spoke these words to me, “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,” but only recently did He give me the understanding of what this blessing entails. The blessing that we receive from the Lord is a heart of compassion for others, so that we can be gentle and kind with them when they go through times of trial and difficulty. The blessing that we receive is wisdom and understanding, so that we can help others overcome the same things we struggled to overcome. The blessing that we receive is grace and long-suffering so that we can be patient and gentle with others. The blessing that we receive is humility, so that we can better relate to others and be approachable. The blessing that we receive from the Lord is a nature that looks more like our Father’s nature, and a heart of love. Thank You Jesus!

It’s not to say that these are the only blessings we receive from the Lord. The greatest blessing was experiencing victory over the stronghold which held me captive for so long. I was also blessed with complete peace and joy (regardless of my circumstances). I came out of this battle with a deeper knowledge of God and a greater love for Him.

I felt led by the Holy Spirit to write this message, because I believe that the Lord wants to give His people hope through my testimony. We may not have all the answers we want, and we may not understand why we go through certain things in life, but if we can just choose to trust the Lord – a blessing will follow. I too am facing new challenges in my life now, but the Lord has once again asked me to just trust Him.

Perhaps you are facing a great spiritual battle, or a trial which feels too heavy for you to bear. May I ask you to choose to trust in God. Choose to believe that everything is in His control and that He has a good plan for your life. He knows what we need and when we need it, and He will always help us. Scripture tells us that we will go through times of trials, persecution, temptations and suffering – but we are not alone. Jesus is with us – guiding us, loving us, teaching us, encouraging us, and helping us. He strengthens us when we feel too weak to fight against the spiritual attacks we face, or when we feel like we can’t carry on. He is a good Father who loves us, protects us, and fights for us. Choose to believe that if you trust Him with all your heart, a blessing will follow.

I pray this message strengthens and encourages you in Jesus’ mighty name.

Until next time – goodbye