Listening Ears

And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10 NLT)

I'm an educator and around school you will often hear teachers say, "Put your listening ears on." I think that God wants us to do the same thing. Often he is speaking to us but like Samuel we don't recognize his voice. A lot of us are just like Samuel. God called out to him multiple times and he heard something but was unsure of the source of the voice. This happens to us for many reasons. 

Many times we, like Samuel, go and ask another person what they hear because we doubt our own ability to hear from God.  Other times we hear something but just don't know who is speaking.  As a teacher, I can tell which of my students is speaking without even looking at them because I know them. I am with them day in and day out. We need to spend time with God to be able to hear and recognize his voice.

It is also interesting that this account takes place at night when all is quiet and still. In order to hear from God, we need to quiet our hearts and minds and be still before him. This means sometimes even turning off the good things will fill our lives with. Being still is a lost art in our society. We constantly have to be busy. We have headphones in, the television on and are texting and updating social media all at the same time. When God passed by Elijah it was in the stillness and this is still true today. We can be busy, even busy for God,, and totally miss hearing from him because he speaks in the stillness.

Most people I know, myself included, constantly say, "I wish God would just tell me..." What if God is telling us, but like Samuel we just don't recognize his voice.  Is he talking to you? Are you listening for his voice? Do you know him enough to recognize his voice from the voice of others or are you too busy looking to friends and self-help experts for advice? Are you still enough to hear God speaking to you? 

I believe God is always speaking to us; we just need to put our listening ears on to hear him.

                                                                           

                                                    

                                                    

Gearing Up for a New Year

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT)

     It's a New Year and many people resolve to get healthier and more in shape. The stores are selling workout clothes and equipment and gyms will sell more memberships this month than any other time during the year. Maybe you are resolving to get healthier. Just be reminded as you put your sneakers and workout clothes on that as a believer in Christ, you are in a race. Be disciplined in your training like Paul talks about in Corinthians. Get your spiritual life in shape by adopting spiritual disciplines like prayer and reading God's Word. When you train for a regular race you may win a prize, but one day that prize will fade away. On the other hand, when you train spiritually you are gaining a prize that is eternal.

Paul tells us to be purposeful in every step. I know people that plan every exercise, doing certain muscle groups on certain days; tracking how much weight they can lift verses when they stared and every calorie put in their body. If we take so much care and time for a body that will one day fade away, how much care should we put into our spiritual life? Be purposeful. Fill your time with things that will nourish your soul and bring you closer to God. Paul says that he doesn't just talk the talk. Everything he preaches, he lives. He trained like an athlete with a prize in mind. This New Year resolve to do the same for yourself.