Listen with Your Heart
1Sa 3:7-10 NLT - [7] Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. [8] So now the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?" Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. [9] So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, `Yes, LORD, your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went back to bed. [10] And the LORD came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Yes, your servant is listening."
When I was younger, I strongly desired to hear the audible voice of the Lord. Of course, looking back, I now understand that the Lord’s direct, audible voice is not sound produced from some heavenly throat, but a gentle or firm tug on the heart. There are some examples of the audible voice of the Lord, but very often we must learn to listen with an instrument better than our audible nerves sending signals to our brains. We must learn to listen with the heart.
In 1st Samuel, the Lord makes his first appearance to Samuel. When does God speak? When the boy least expects it—while he is trying to go to sleep. That is often how God speaks, isn’t it—when you least expect it. A constant and convenient voice of the Lord would indicate that such a God is no more than a convenient human invention to bring order and stability to the natural world. He would be a magical wish-granter, delivering our every desire based on a simple prayer that we “feel” is God’s voice.
Christians must learn to be strong in matters of the heart. Listening with the heart involves the innocence and responsiveness of Samuel. Notice that when the Lord calls Samuel for the 4th time, Samuel replies "Yes, your servant is listening." How we need to learn such submissiveness and commitment! More often, we say, “Speak, Lord, I’m listening, but this better be good.” We would rather hear the Lord’s proposal and then decide if we want to act based on the difficult surrounding the circumstance. As we grow in the Lord, this is usually quickly followed by a firm burden of guilt. This is the voice of the Holy Spirit calling us. What a loud voice it is! When God calls, He shouts in whispers. His voice could not be heard by the man standing closest you on the subway, but it clashes in your mind louder than a thousand pots and pans all crashing to the ground at once. We are compelled to do the Lord’s will.
How do we obtain such an ear for the Lord? By learning to listen. By being ready as Eli told Samuel to be. The Lord has a message He wants us to bring, just like He had for Samuel. That message is vital to the mission of God and His kingdom. Will you learn to listen, and will you respond? Amen.
With love in Christ,
Austin Aldrich
No comments:
Post a Comment