By David ReayMonday 18 Jan 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” (NLT)
In order to hear a radio station we need to tune into it. If we are not tuned in all we get is static. Many of us who complain God doesn’t communicate to us might in fact be simply describing the truth that we are not on his wavelength. All we hear is static, whereas if we were tuned in, we might hear what he is saying.
What causes the static? It can be mere busyness. We are too busy to take the time to be still and reflect. More subtly, we can be too busy being active for Jesus to actually develop a deeper relationship with him. Imagine a jar filled with muddy water. As long as it is shaken up it remains muddy. Only when it is left to stand still does the water clear. Stillness on our part can defeat the static.
Then again, we may not “hear” God because deep down we don’t want to know what he might be saying to us. We have made our plans, we have set our priorities, we have our secrets and shadows. We don’t want to change unless that change is painless. And so we practise a sort of selective deafness.
Jesus reminds us that this sort of deafness can be deadening. Static wins, it becomes the norm. We need not ask if God is speaking: he is. We rather need to ask if we are listening.
Blessings
David