When God Borrows a Voice

Throughout Scripture, God demonstrates His absolute freedom to speak through unexpected vessels—never to exalt the vessel, but to deliver truth. He speaks through burning bushes, pagan kings, donkeys, dreams, visions, and foreign poets. In every case, the medium is incidental; the message is sovereign.

This same pattern continues today. God has not fallen silent, nor has He confined Himself to religious environments alone. He speaks loudly and clearly—often through culture—yet the natural man frequently cannot discern what is being said.

As the apostle Paul writes:

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” — 1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)

The issue is not volume. God is speaking. The issue is perception.

Throughout Scripture, God uses what is familiar to arrest attention— not to validate the source, but to redirect the hearer toward eternal truth.

When classic rock lyrics appear in my dreams and prayer life, they are not presented as objects of admiration, doctrine, or authority. They function as signposts—briefly illuminated fragments the Holy Spirit highlights to draw attention elsewhere.

When God speaks through a lyric, the lyric is not revelation. It is the doorway.

God may borrow a phrase from culture, but He supplies the meaning. He confirms it through Scripture. And He applies it through obedience.

Anything less is sentiment. Anything more is idolatry.

Not everyone listens to classic rock—and that is precisely the point. God often speaks through the language, symbols, and reference points that have shaped a person faithfully over time.

For some, that language may be music. For others, it may be classic literature, the writings of Shakespeare, craftsmanship, architecture, history, or even a lifelong engagement with sports.

This pattern is biblical.

The apostle Paul quoted Greek poets when addressing the Athenians:

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” — Acts 17:28

Jesus taught in parables drawn from agriculture, fishing, and domestic life—not because farming was holy, but because it was understood.

God does not sanctify the culture. He redeems attention within it.

This does not mean every interest becomes revelation. Discernment is essential.

When the Spirit speaks through culture, He does so with precision. He highlights a fragment, not an entire work. He isolates a phrase, not a worldview. That distinction matters.

Most of these encounters occur in dreams, prayer, or quiet reflection—moments when a line, image, or symbol appears with unusual clarity. These are not emotional memories or random thoughts. They are divine interruptions—calls to pause, return to Scripture, and ask God what He is saying.

By using fragments rather than wholes, the Spirit trains restraint:

• Attention is captured without imagination running ahead
• Meaning is sought, not assumed
• Revelation remains anchored in Scripture and humility

If the encounter does not lead back to the Word of God, it is not from the Spirit of God.

Through prayer and dreams, I have come to recognize a recurring symbol: the rolling stone.

Biblically, the stone that is rolled away is never decorative—it is revelatory.

• A stone is rolled away from Christ’s tomb, revealing resurrection (Matthew 28:2).
• A stone is removed at Lazarus’s grave, making room for life to return (John 11:39–44).

A rolled stone marks the transition from death to life, from sealed impossibility to divine intervention.

With that framework in place, the cultural echoes become striking.

Is it coincidence that one of the world’s most influential rock bands is called The Rolling Stones?

Is it coincidence that one of the most iconic songs in modern music is titled Like a Rolling Stone?

Is it coincidence that for decades, the most influential music publication was titled Rolling Stone?

These observations do not elevate the artists, the song, or the magazine. They do not confer spiritual authority upon them. They do not suggest intentional theology.

They point instead to a deeper reality: that resurrection imagery has echoed loudly through culture, even when culture did not understand what it was saying.

As Scripture declares:

“The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.” — Psalm 118:22

Culture may reject the meaning. God still allows the symbol to speak.

To the natural mind, these are clever wordplays or amusing coincidences.

To the spiritual mind, they are reminders of a God who leaves fingerprints everywhere.

The natural man hears sound.

The spiritual man discerns signal.

God does not hide truth because He is unwilling to reveal it. He hides it because only humility can perceive it.

In every case, the medium remains secondary.

Whether God arrests attention through music, literature, dreams, or lifelong passions, the test is always the same:

• Does it lead you back to Scripture?
• Does it deepen reverence for Christ?
• Does it produce obedience rather than fascination?

If it does, the message has served its purpose.

God is speaking—often more loudly than we realize.

But only the Spirit-taught heart recognizes the voice behind the sound.