Book Review: It’s NOT Meant to Be a Secret: God Wants to Speak to You by Nathan A. French

When I first heard of It’s NOT Meant to Be a Secret, I admit I was skeptical. Who was this person who thinks God is speaking to him? Is he crazy? And if God is speaking to him, why isn't he speaking to me or to the rest of us?

But when I read the book, I straightaway had my questions answered in the introduction by the author, or should I say God’s co-author, Nathan French. Nathan addresses doubters upfront by saying:

“Many people mock others who claim to hear God, and for just cause. They might have seen people walking down the street, talking to themselves as if they had lost their grip on reality. Many children are taught to avoid people who hear voices because those people are probably a bit 'crazy in the head.' The Bible, however, tells us that we are meant to hear God, and if that is so and God does speak today, we could argue that we might be 'crazy' not to want to hear him. Jesus said, 'My sheep hear my voice and a stranger’s voice they will not follow” (John 10:4-5). If he is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), that means he does not change, and if he does not change, it is time every one of us begins to learn how to hear him.'”

Nathan goes on to explain how he began to hear God’s voice through journaling, simply by being quiet and listening for it. I don’t think there’s anything extraordinary in that (and perhaps, as Nathan says at the end of the book, it is natural to have a supernatural experience; after all, the great Victorian author Thomas Carlyle fervently believed in Natural Supernaturalism and I have long admired and adhered to his viewpoint). Yes, I think hearing God’s voice by listening to it is realistic and can be part of our everyday reality. I have not actually heard God’s voice out loud, but I have heard it in my heart, guiding me during times of greatest trial, telling me all is well and to stay on course. Perhaps, it’s my imagination and my experiences are not at all as in-depth as Nathan’s, but I am open to the possibilities he describes, and if anything, this book has encouraged me to want to spend more quiet time with God.

Article Author: Tyler Tichelaar

Visit Tyler Tichelaar's author page — Tyler Tichelaar's Blog