Listen
There are talkers and there are listeners…and then there are those who are a little of both and often can be interrupters. I was clearly a listener today, in church, as we had an Irishman come to speak as a visiting pastor. There is something about hearing that Irish dialect that goes right to my soul…it might have something to do with being a redhead. But his start off question was: “What is it that you need?”
And what would your answer be? He spun off a myriad of possible answers that any of us could relate to, but his point was God already has the answer because he knows us intimately, and what we think we need and what God knows we need may very well be quite different.
The world drives us to want to be a somebody, and possess a variety of “things” and have power and notoriety and has tricked us into believing those wishes and self gratifying exploits would truly satisfy us. And without naming the examples… you can figure them out. But what the world offers is always temporary…good for a little while until the next craving or desired longing comes along.
God has created within us a void that only he can fill. And once we have accepted the invitation to be ‘all in” and let him rule our hearts it is only then that we are able to tap into the spiritual blessings of his power, wisdom, direction, comfort, forgiveness and especially his uncompromised, and unconditional love.
For we have done nothing to deserve his sacrificial gift of grace. It is HIS GIFT to us to be the friend who is ever present, to be the helper who is there in need, and to be the redeemer for all of our sins and inadequacies.
In order to have that relationship with God, we need to know his word, believe his word and hear him speak his word through the whispers and consciousness of our heart and soul. We have to pray with expectancy and wait with patience for his nudge and his word of affirmation as to how to proceed with the circumstances that are before us.
God speaks to a listening ear. To ‘our” listening ears, if we only settle into a quiet way, in a quiet place and release what are our own ideas , and thoughts and suggestions of others, and accept the fact that God does hear us and he will answer us, but it will be on his timing and through his will.. He will not fight for our attention for we must be willing to submit our time and trust Him to use it for his glory. He is the master of this universe and his will and plan for each of our lives is much greater than anything the world has to offer us.
What does it take to be a good listener: you have to be interested in the topic and willing to learn from the source. Christ has come to this earth to teach his ways, and remind us daily that the world and its worldly ways are not our friends. But for us to be taught, we must have ears to listen. Just think about how many conversations we engage in in a day! How much listening do we do and how much talking do we do? Do we take time to step off the moving sidewalk of life and be quiet. Do we consciously ask God to guide us one way or another, or to calm our hearts when chaos abounds, or guard our hearts from thinking about the future or running from the past? it is hard to try to listen to what you are asking of God to answer when you don’t make way for him to speak in His whispers.
When you hear someone whispering, aren’t you kind of curious don’t you kind of want to know what they are saying? God whispers and if we are listening we will hear him, through the passages that we have carved out for him and him only in the quiet spaces of our heart. Not necessarily in an audible voice but in a consciousness of thought that he travels through. Gods’ word is real, and right and true and it is available to all of us who reach to the heavens and declare God to be our glorious unrelenting, unchangeable, immeasurable, King of all kings and the master of this universe. God is a teacher but is also there to free us. Free us from the holds that sin has upon us. And the truth is we are all sinners all the time. But Christ has freed us from that bondage; however so many times we try to fend off sin ourselves instead of asking God through his power to release us from it. We try, in vain, to fight our own battles without him, and we are just not up for the fight. So often times as Paul said in the bible: we do what we do not want to do and don’t do what we should.
This pastor today gave the following analogy:
A body is laying on the floor, dead; eyes are still there, ears are still there but all is dead, only a skin covered body with no beating heart, or working brain or active senses. This is what he says of those who have not accepted Christ and allowed him to give us a second birth.
For when he calls us to be own, and we accept that invitation, it is then that we become truly alive in Christ; able to sense his presence, ears that hear his word, eyes that see his works and a heart that reaches out to others in love; a love that we have come to know through him.
Today, Take a little time to find you’re your quiet spot and pray, and then stop talking and just listen for what God is telling you in your heart.
Bless you this day with a new beginning of knowing God better, trusting him more and listening for his whispers of direction as he moves you gently to be closer to Him.
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!
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