“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalms 46:10-11 (NIV)
We need to be still and learn to listen to the Lord – to truly listen – not with biased ears or heart leanings on things we think we must have or simply on our own agendas for the day. Rather, while reading His Word, we are to be listening attentively to His heart. He is speaking to us and for us. Further, the God of all creation (including you and me) sees, knows and loves us fully and completely. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness”, the Prophet Jeremiah records in Jeremiah 31:3. His love for us woos and beckons us to go further still with Him – opening our eyes and hearts to the limitless knowledge of Him and of His perfect will, Who called us out of darkness and into His wonderful light, as Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9. And what the heart knows the heart knows, Amen? We cannot “un-see” what our eyes have seen or “un-experience” what we have previously experienced with the Master, right? And no one can refute our own testimony as we have lived it.
Yet, true listening to God can easily elude us, Amen? We find ourselves quickly reading through a passage – perhaps simply to say we have done it – or perhaps having our minds stay distracted by many other things – and we miss out on God’s best for us, leaving us coming away with no change of hearts or actions. It should not be this way. God desires for us to be conformed into the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. We are to be like Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet, soaking up every Word that fell from His mouth, not distracted by all the events happening around her – simply listening as a love note from God sent straight to her heart and embracing it with great joy. And it changed her life. She clung tenaciously to His Words in a life breathing and life changing way – to her blessing and to her benefit, allowing her to establish the rhythms of His heart and love towards her. Indeed, God wants us to listen and truly listen to Him through the Scripture and to use what we learn not only to bless ourselves but to bless others as well. This enables us to greatly impact the world for Jesus as we all do our parts in His-story.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)