I have not read all the responses yet, so please forgive me if I’m repeating what’s already been said.
But to answer your posted question, He has. Often, we just don’t listen because we want or expect or even demand a specific message, in a specific way. Instead of really trying to hear what God has already said and is saying now, we’re too busy listing all the ways He could “prove Himself” to us.
And still, what would it prove if He did speak directly to us? Many would still dismiss His words as a hallucination or a trick or whatever other excuse we could come up with, and would require more and more “proof” in specific ways, yet still never come to believe. If we sincerely seek the truth (which is difficult to do), then God will give us the “proof” we need, even if it’s *not the proof we think we wanted originally *(often, it’s an experience that’s difficult to explain, and only applies to the person involved, anyway–similar to being in love).
God has already given us what we need to have a relationship with Him, if we choose to do so. He wants a relationship with us, but He is not going to** force **us to believe–He gives us a choice so that we can truly choose to love Him. It’s not love if we have no choice.
Too often, we ignore all the blessings He has given us, all the ways He has already spoken to us, and all the ways He has already shown His love for us, because we want Him to do it our way. He’s left us messages, love letters. He’s given us signs and witnesses and experiences that show He will be there with us when we need Him, and that He will love us and forgive us whenever we’re ready to come home to Him. He answers our prayers (though not always the way we expect or the way we think we want them answered, so we may miss it). He has already shown us how much He loves us through His sacrifice. Yet we still want to sit on our backsides with our arms crossed and say, “Prove it.” I know, because that’s what I did for a long time.
It’s a lot like the manipulative wife/husband who says to a very loving spouse, “If you** really **loved me, you would do (insert whatever),” which really translates to, “Do what I want you to do, when I want you to do it, and then I’ll love you. Temporarily.” But even when you do what they want, what happens? Are they happy for long? Well, maybe only as long as you keep doing what they want, and don’t do anything they don’t like (even when it has nothing to do with them). But you cannot count on them to be there when the going gets tough. It’s neither love nor trust that a relationship like that is built upon, but only control. We, as human beings, like being in control–or at least, thinking we are. It’s difficult to sacrifice that, because it seems safe. Comfortable. Reasonable. It means we don’t have to change or grow or do anything that we don’t want to do. We want God to come to us on our terms, so that we can remain in control (or at least keep thinking we are).
That’s not the kind of relationship we should have with God, and He knows that’s not what we need from Him. He wants us there for the long run–not just during “fair weather.” He knows that we will need to grow in many ways to become better people, but going through those changes isn’t always fun, or easy, or comfortable. If we start out by getting whatever we want dropped in our laps, then when trials come along, would we really have the strength and faith to stick around and rely on God? Probably not. More likely, we would blame Him for allowing us to suffer, or stop believing in Him (and sometimes we do these things anyway).
So He allows us to choose whether or not to seek Him out, to love Him, to truly be free, when we are ready to open our hearts and take those steps. Like any good relationship, it’s not always easy, it’s sometimes uncomfortable, and it requires a response from us. But it’s worth it. :heaven:
HTH.
