Why does God speak to us in parables not only when Jesus was physically walking the earth but also now when God speaks to us through dreams and visions?
Have you ever wondered why Jesus speaks to us in parables? Is it because He enjoys us being confused and likes to distance Himself from us? It’s obviously not these reasons because God is not a God of confusion, but peace as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:33. And nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ, Romans 8:31-39. So why is it that God chooses to reveal himself in parables? I propose that God is looking for the hungry and humble. Only the relational, curious, and humble will spend the time to seek God for the true meaning behind the parable or fable.
How does this connect with the prophetic, you may ask? I have found that regarding the prophetic and revelatory gifts: words of prophecy, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, dreams, visions, and spiritual encounters are often highly parabolic in nature. Every time we function in the prophetic to find God’s heart for the person or situation, God empowers us to be relational, curious, and humble. It’s relational because all prophetic function comes from a place of relational dialogue with God to discover the true hidden meaning behind the parabolic vision or dream. Secondly, curious because only when someone is curious will they go to lengths to discover the meaning of the parable given. Lastly, humble because we have to come to this place of sole dependency on God for all revelation and truth made plain.
Relational
I have, at different times, heard many people say they cannot hear God's voice or claim that God doesn't speak to them. We must remember that God is relational and functions out of relationship rather than religion or formulas. In scripture, God chooses to relate with humanity as his sons and daughters, friends, and bride. These are all very relational languages regarding our relationship with God. I propose that we often can't hear God's voice because our relational circuits are turned off. In the book, The Joy Switch, Chris M. Coursey talks about how when our relational circuits are offline, we are in what they call enemy mode. And when we are in enemy mode, we cannot hear the other person. In this case, we cannot hear God even if He attempts to speak to us. The book has many exercises to help us reactivate our relational circuits; one of them is practicing gratitude. When we are in gratitude and thankfulness, we are actually able to be relational and suddenly have the ability to hear the other person, in this case, God. So if you are having difficulty hearing God for yourself or others, start by cultivating gratitude and thankfulness, then try to engage God to hear His voice. I guarantee you that suddenly, His voice will be apparent to you.
Humility
Another important factor of the consequence of parables is the beauty of humility being formed in us as the people of God. God chose to use parables to reveal His heart to us, which requires humility on our part to first say, I don't understand this. We see this reality found in Ezekiel 37, where Ezekiel says, "Lord, you know." Ezekiel was experiencing a visionary parable that was revealing to him, but Ezekiel dared not use His own assumptions to interpret the vision. Parables bring us to the end of ourselves and our own ability and enable us to look upon the able One. Matthew 5:5 says, "Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth." God desires His people to inherit the earth to have dominion by advancing His Kingdom from the unseen realm into the seen realm. As God cultivates humility in us, we can lay down our dead works and truly lean into the finished work of the cross of Christ (Hebrews 6:1, Hebrews 9:14). Only from this place of death to self can we begin to walk in the ascended life of the Spirit.
Curiosity
Another dimension that parables help us to cultivate is the wonder of curiosity. When we lose our curiosity in discovering the truth, we begin to be rigid in man-made religion, assuming that we know it all. Once pride seeps into our hearts and minds, it becomes impossible to see clearly. So every time God speaks to us in parabolic language, we put to death the spirit of pride in our lives because we come to terms with that we don't know. Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." The curious and the hungry will always be filled and satisfied. And proverbs 25:2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." By embracing the lifestyle of curiosity, we are embracing God's revealed glory. Suddenly a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment fills our lives with meaning.
With this perspective, let’s learn to be relational, curious, and humble when God speaks to us in parabolic language. God is looking for a powerful interactive church to do life together for eternity. By being relational in gratitude, we turn the relational circuits in our brains to perceive God's voice. By being humble, we are coming to this place of sole dependency upon our union with God, where life flows in and through our lives unto others. By embracing a lifestyle of curiosity, we are creating room to experience a perpetual sense of satisfaction and fulfillment from our relationship with God. Let’s not lose hope in seeking God’s heart when it comes to metaphorical language we don’t understand. Matthew 13:11 - He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." God's heart and longing are for us to intimately know and personally experience His relational love towards us.
Summary:
In the prophetic realm, God speaks to us through dreams and visions through parabolic language.
God is looking to form our character as He interacts with us.
Relational: Gratitude helps us to become relational to hear God's voice.
Humility: As we die to ourselves, we can step into God's Spirit to lead and guide us.
Curiosity: When we are curious, God brings us satisfaction and fulfillment.
God desires each of us to know him personally and intimately.
If you need help recognizing and activating God's voice in your life, feel free to book a session with us to be empowered to hear God's voice in a very relational way. We will guide you in how to engage God's voice in your life. Sign up for an individual prophetic coaching session today.