Are You Listening

“A voice came from  the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.’”
Luke 9:35

Have you ever wondered why God gave us two ears and one mouth? Perhaps He was trying to tell us something—listening is more important than talking. There is an art to listening. You actually have to choose to listen and that means paying attention. That means you can’t talk and listen at the same time. You have to take the focus off you and your words and hear what is being said.

Listening is so important that right after Jesus was baptized, God gave us instructions to listen to Jesus, and there’s a very good reason why. The words Jesus spoke to His disciples and to the crowds that followed Him revealed the mystery that had been kept secret until then, knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It was God revealing Himself through His Son and the Son eventually revealing the Holy Spirit. It was the promise of eternal life. If you weren’t listening or chose to ignore His words, you missed out on the greatest hope ever.

The words of Jesus were filled with wisdom, love, hope and salvation. He was on a mission to restore and save the lost. Many times after speaking a parable or story, Jesus would say these same words, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 11:15) There’s another translation that says it boldly, “Are you listening to me? Really listening?: (The Message) In other words, “Do you hear what I said? Do you know these words can make the difference between hope and despair, life and death?”

We’ve talked about voices in past devotions. Whose voice are you listening to? Many only hear themselves talk and holding a conversation with them feels like they don’t know you’re present. Many only hear what they want to hear. They cherry pick, pulling only the thoughts that align with their own, leaving the other words of truth or wisdom languishing in the wind. The only voice that matters is Jesus’.

He’s calling out to us even now through this pandemic. He’s calling for us to push away all other voices and hear His words of hope. He’s calling for us to listen to truth and if we aren’t sure what is truth, He wants us to turn to Him and ask Him to show us. Jesus is also calling us to listen to His words through the Bible. Pick it up when you want to hear His voice and listen to God’s words. He’s calling us to prayer, so pray more fervently. He will answer.

If we are going to make it through this pandemic, we must listen to the voice of Jesus. Our hope and our future rely on it. This time will end and we will come out of it eventually. How we come out will depend on how we sought Him and how we listened. Are you listening?

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance..” Proverbs 1:5

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires...Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:19-20, 22

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

Prayer

Lord,

During this season, strengthen me by Your Holy Spirit to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. I do not merely want to listen to the Word, and so deceive myself. I want to do what it says. For You bless those who hear Your Word and obey it. You say that whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in You. I trust in You Lord, I call to You and You answer me and tell me great and unsearchable things I do not know. I remain confident of this: I will see Your goodness in the land of the living. I will wait for You; I will be strong and take heart and I will wait for You. I will sit still and know that you are my God. Amen!


Photo by Alireza Attari on Unsplash

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