Are You Listening?

Bibby’s Blessings
August 10, 2018

ARE YOU LISTENING?

“From his temple he heard my voice ; my cry came before him, into his ears.” Psalm 18:6

“But they did not listen to me….” Jeremiah 7:26

How sad is that?
Hearing….
But not being heard.

I suppose it happens to God all day long every day!

Listening…..

It’s so seriously God-like! He’s so good at it! It’s a virtue that people who best reflect God are also good at!

As I meditated on these verses today, I asked myself some questions to assess why I or God or anyone else desires to be heard, and to assess my own listening skills. For how can we truly listen to a God, whom we cannot see, if we’re poor at listening to people whose voices we hear every day?

I thought I’d share these with you in case you’d like to ponder them with me:

1. How important is it to you to feel that when you speak, the person(s) you are speaking to are really hearing you? If they are not, what does this imply?
2. When others speak to you, do they feel that you are really hearing them? If not, what do you think they feel?
3. When others speak to you, do you too quickly answer back with your own ideas, your own answers, your own experiences, removing the focus from their heart to yours? Do you suppose we do that to God when He’s trying to reveal His heart to us?
4. Are you willing to genuinely take a look at yourself in this area, without assessing anyone else but yourself?

I cannot even begin to express how important it is as you raise your children to truly know God that you teach them this Godly virtue by example!

They may learn to listen to God by following the example of how you listen to God AND to others.

I plan to ask a few people, “How well do you feel that I listen when you speak?”

Then… I’m going to LISTEN to their answer…
Because…

“Being heard is so close to being loved that they are almost indistinguishable.”  -David Augsburger