God’s Megaphone

Best known for writing “The Chronicles of Narnia,” British author C.S. Lewis was also a lay theologian, thinking deeply about the ways God interacts with us. No stranger to pain in his own life, Lewis had this to say about the topic:

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience,
but shouts to us in our pain.
It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

If there’s a theme that runs deeply throughout the book of Job, it’s one of pain and suffering. And while few of us will ever experience it in Job-like proportions, it’s something that’s common to everyone. When it comes to pain, no one gets a free pass.

When we go through a period of suffering, God is telling us that something is not right with this world. It’s as though He’s reminding us — vividly and tangibly — that we’re broken, that we need fixing, that we need redemption, that we need Him.

Ironically, it’s when we’re in pain that we’re most tempted to believe God is being silent. Our hurt, grief and suffering becomes so loud that it drowns out the still, quiet voice of God.

No wonder, then, that God shouts to get our attention. Sometimes, it takes a megaphone to rouse us from our deafness.