Ears to Hear
Our Lord Jesus had a funny little saying that He found useful on occasion:
“Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 11:15).
I imagine He’d say that with a grin… If God gave you ears, I suggest you use them! Especially when the one who’s speaking is the Maker of Heaven and Earth!
The implication, of course, is that God does speak, but not everyone is listening.
He’s given us His Word to be “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.” Clearly the Lord wants us to avoid the painful pitfalls of living in a fallen world.
So He speaks:
Listen as Wisdom calls out!
Hear as understanding raises her voice!
On the hilltop along the road,
she takes her stand at the crossroads.
By the gates at the entrance to the town,
on the road leading in, she cries aloud,
“I call to you, to all of you!
I raise my voice to all people! (Proverbs 8:1-6)
Wisdom from the Lord is not hard to find–that’s the point here. If we want His counsel, it’s there for the taking!
Just listen.
It’s sad, but true, that oftentimes we’re not willing. And if we ignore our Maker, I think we short-circuit His plan–and it’s a good one!
“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).
Who wouldn’t want that?!
But here’s the condition: we have to hear His Word and then, put it into practice.
So, for example, off the top of my head:
It’s better to give than receive,
but we prefer to get.
Turn the other cheek when insulted,
but we prefer to slap them back.
Go the extra mile,
but we resented the first one.
Forgive those who wrong you,
but we prefer to hold grudges.
Love those who hate you,
but we want to hate them back.
I like what Jesus said to His disciples in a moment of holy exasperation:
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? Like, isn’t the whole point of being your Lord mean that you actually listen and obey?
I think many Believers wonder why their Christian life is so lackluster, why their prayers seem so ineffective, and why their hearts feel so unsatisfied.
Could it be that God is speaking, but we’re not listening?
Like Jonah…
God tells him, I need you to go 500 miles west, and he sets a course for 2000 miles east. No bueno.
He’s got ears, but the prophet’s heart wasn’t in synch with God’s, so he pushed the manual override button.
And when we don’t listen to God, we end up with a whale of a problem… (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
Happily, it’s an easy fix–this hard of hearing problem of ours.
It’s called repentance. (And Jonah models this for us.)
Repentance just means having a change of heart that results in a change of behavior, which in turn, brings resolve to the mess we created by not listening in the first place.
So yeah,
If we want the quality of our lives to improve, we need to be better listeners. And it’s not just the negative admonitions we need to hear, it’s the positive exhortations as well. They are just as easy to dismiss.
When He says,
Trust Me and stop being afraid.
I love you and have a good plan for your life.
I’m working this thing out for your good.
So, you see…
It’s not cool to turn a deaf ear to God’s kindness simply because we don’t feel we’re deserving. We sometimes think that it’s okay to reject personal encouragement, like it’s not like ignoring a command–but it is ignoring God’s word.
What needless anxiety and unnecessary grief we cause ourselves when we fail to really listen to His kind encouragement.
I will supply all your needs.
Cast your burdens on Me.
I will never leave you.
If I am truly listening, then our lives should reflect some measure of comfort, peace, and confidence.
We need to listen carefully to James’ about “listening”:
“But don’t just listen to God’s word,” James says, “you must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22).
Listen and act.
Listen and apply.
And let’s make good use of the ears God gave us.
