But God asks us to listen
Isaiah 50:4-5, 10 The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. … If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.
This will be a busy week. For you, too?
That’s why I had to lie in bed long enough this morning to be still and listen to the Lord, to reflect on the looong list of blessings he has poured into my life (including a wonderful trip to eastern PA and New Jersey to visit beloved friends–we got home last night). Long enough to verbalize that I want to walk through this week with joy and thankfulness instead of stress.
Focused listening isn’t always easy. The last post, I made two confessions. Here’s another:
Sometimes when my husband is talking to me at length about his day, the people he has talked with, the plans he has made with them, the conundrums he faces, I let my own thoughts and concerns distract me.
Later, when he references a prior conversation, I may have only a vague idea of what he’s talking about.
Does this matter? It certainly does when he is asking for my perspective on a situation he believes I already understand because of what he has explained to me before. If I’m to give him any kind of useful feedback, I have to admit my failure to listen and request another explanation—not optimal for him or for me. Or for finding a solution to whatever the current dilemma may be.
How often do I treat God the same way? Let my mind be so busy with my own “stuff” that I fail to hear what he wants to say to me.
A lovely counselor, teacher, and pray-er name Leanne Payne (you can find her books on the internet) used to say, “Listen to the word of love God is always speaking to you.”
My experience bears this out. God is always communicating with us. Are we stopping to listen? Have we learned to quiet our own thoughts enough to hear his still, small voice?
Lying in bed after I wake up in the morning, to hear God’s voice in the stillness, has become a habit. It anchors me into his love. It doesn’t take the place of my “quiet time,” when I read Scripture and pray. Rather, it allows me to benefit from what he has to say to me, without concern yet for what I want to say to him. This focused listening usually results in deep gratitude.
Granted, I have many advantages: an “empty nest”—no children needing my attention early in the morning. No job where I need to punch a clock. No longer the need to get up to check vital signs, administer IV antibiotics, TPN, and fluids, change dressings, attend to hygiene, and drive Karis to the hospital by 6:30 a.m. for clinic. And because I naturally wake up around 5:00, I feel the “right” to spend these moments in bed just listening.
You may not have any of these luxuries.
But unless we figure out some way to make space for stillness in our busy lives (driving to work? cleaning house? taking a walk? taking a few minutes after the kids are in bed?), we miss so much of what the Lord wants to say, to encourage us, to give us clarity about our struggles, to remind us that HE is sovereign, not us. He’s got the whole world in HIS hands. He can dispel anxiety and darkness in our souls with his rays of hope and peace and thankfulness—if we’re still in his presence long enough!
Be still, my soul. The Lord is on your side!
Debra Kornfield 