Are You Listening?

My Utmost For His Highest

 

‘We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.’ CHAMBERS

 

I preached in a Haitian church last Sunday.  As I looked at the people and they looked at me, I wondered .. do they really hear me? I know they are listening .. at least they are not sleeping .. but do they hear what I am saying.  In Matthew 13:14-16 Jesus said, “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”

 

It is not when we hear with our ears, but with our heart that God’s truth brings change.  Mentally we receive the words, but they never make it to the place where our will resides.  The place where change happens.  Where we move from listening to the words to acting on them.  In 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 Paul said , “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”

 

I can never be persuasive enough to change a heart .. but the Spirit can be.  I pray that today you will hear the Lord speaking to you and your heart will say .. “Yes, Lord!”

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)