God Calls Us to Listen

This season of my life seems to be about listening.  I know God is trying to speak to me but sometimes it’s like watching television with the mute button pushed. I can almost see His mouth moving but there is no sound.  I wish I could read lips.

I can remember lines from old movies where one character is trying to make a strong point to another character and emphasizes his point with the phrase, “read my lips.” There have been times where I’ve been tempted to use this line with my children when they are reluctant to accept my answer to a request and they keep trying to get me to change my mind.  It’s probably not the best parenting tool but it might be effective.

So why is it that, in this season and at perhaps a time when I am trying harder to listen than ever before to hear God’s direction, that I seem to be deaf? Is there a barrier between us? Something I’ve put there because, like my children, I’ve heard His response to me and I’m waiting for a different one?  One I like better?

Or is it that I’m really trying to listen and there are no barriers between us…just so much noise in my life that I can’t hear the still small voice of my Father.  Either way, the issue is not that God isn’t speaking. The issue is within me.  There are hundreds of verses of Scripture that tell us to listen. But listening requires something of us. It requires that we be quiet, that we be still before the Lord.

My excuses as to why I can’t seem to be quiet before the Lord are actually pretty lame.  It’s really very simple. It’s about considering to what degree I’m willing to sacrifice in order to hear God. I must put aside my own selfish desires and just stop. Stop and wait. Stop and listen. Be still.

To what degree am I willing to alter my plans, my thoughts, and my busyness in order to hear God? Is there ANYTHING worth more than hearing the voice of my Lord? How much to I really desire to know God?

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and might things, which you do not know.”

It’s important that we call out to God, but if we expect to hear great and mighty things, we have to listen.