Ultrasound
From the Series—Spirit
June 12, 2003There is a catchphrase in the gospels that Jesus says repeatedly. “He who has ears, let him ear.” Countless radio waves are passing through your body as you read this evotional. They are totally invisible. You can’t see them or feel them or hear them. Everything from cell phones and TVs to baby monitors and garage door openers use radio waves to transmit voices and pictures and signals at different frequencies.
Here’s how it works in radio terms. Every radio station operates on a different frequency. When you turn your dial to AM 680 you’re picking up radio waves vibrating at 680,000 hertz. When you change stations you simply change frequencies. It’s pretty amazing yet pretty simple. All you need is an antenna and you can tune in hundreds of frequencies.
Not unlike the invisible radio waves passing through your body right now, the Spirit of God is always speaking. Job 33:14 says, “God does speak-- now one way, now another --though man may not perceive it.”
Donkey Talk
In Numbers 22, an angel of the Lord set up a road block. Balaam beat his donkey three times trying to get her to go because he couldn’t see the angel. Numbers 22:28 says, “The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times’?” I’m not exactly sure how I’d respond if one of my pets said something to me so I’ve got to give Balaam the benefit of the doubt. But this is classic. “ Balaam answered his donkey, ‘You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now’!” I’m thinking, “Why would you kill a talking donkey?” Then the donkey says, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you’?” And Balaam, Israel’s great prophet, can only stutter and stammer and say, “No.”
Here’s the point: if God can speak through a donkey God can speak through anything! God can speak through anything and everything. Next week’s evotional will explore seven dialects that the Spirit speaks: circumstances, signs, dreams, doors, desires, whispers, and people.
Ultrasound
I, for one, have never heard an audible voice. In the New Testament there are only a handful of instances where God speaks in an audible voice. But to think that God isn’t speaking because we can’t hear audible voices is to totally underestimate and totally misunderstand His voice. If you want to understand the voice of God you’ve got to understand the science of sound.
In terms of frequency, the human ear can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 hertz or vibrations per second. Sounds below 20 hertz are infrasonic. Sounds above 20,000 hertz are ultrasonic. When we talk about sound most of us think about that small range that the human ear can hear. But it’s outside that range where sound gets interesting.
Infrasound--sound waves below 20 hertz--have the power to cause headaches and earthquakes. According to zoologists, infrasound helps elephants predict changes in weather and helps birds navigate as they migrate. Infrasound can be used to locate underground oil and predict volcanic eruptions.
On the other end of the sound spectrum, ultrasound has the power to kill insects, track submarines, perform non-invasive surgery, topple buildings, clean jewelry, catalyze chemical reactions, heal damaged tissues, pasteurize milk, break up kidney stones, drill through hard materials, photograph unborn babies, and, of course, drives dogs crazy!
There is a lot more to sound than meets the ear. When we hear words like “sound” and “said” and “voice” we think of that small range between 20 and 20,000 hertz that the ear can hear. We think of linguistics instead of physics. We think of English instead of energy. We think of prose instead of power. But sound is first and foremost a form of energy.
I think it’s tough for us to comprehend the range and power of God’s voice because our voices seem so powerless sometimes. One of the most frustrating things about parenting is having to repeat yourself over and over again. It can drive you crazy. “Don’t make me tell you again,” “If I have to tell you one more time,” “I just told you,” “What did I just say,” “I don’t want to have to tell you again.” Sometimes our words are pretty impotent. So it’s tough to comprehend a God who says, “Let there be” and the universe comes into existence.
In Matthew 8, a centurion asks Jesus to go heal his paralyzed servant. Jesus is willing to go, but the centurion replies, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed.”
“Just say the word.” All it takes is one word. Matthew says that Jesus was astonished. If you “astonish” the Son of God , you’re doing something right! “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” The centurion took Jesus at his word. That is what faith is all about. As the old saying goes, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.”
God doesn’t just “speak” with his voice. His voice heals and creates and calms tempests. Psalm 29 says, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forest bare. And in his temple, all cry, “ Glory!”