Monday, February 13, 2017

Focusing On God's Voice - Hearing Him Above The Crowd

My Utmost For His Highest

Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." —1 Samuel 3:10

{CHAMBERS} “What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him. The attitude of a child of God should always be, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Have you heard God’s voice today?”

{ELGIN}  One thing I have noticed as I age is that my hearing is not what it used to be.  I find it especially hard to hear when there are other noises around me, particularly other people talking.  I remember that I could once focus my hearing on one conversation and the others were barely noticeable.  Not so much today.  My filter does not work as well as it used to.  In much the same way, life can drown out the voice of the Lord.  Where we once heard clearly, we now find it difficult to hear at all.  It takes significant effort to hear the Lord often times.  It is a spiritual problem.  I can’t blame it on my hearing mechanisms in my ears, because it is a problem of the heart.  In Matthew 22:37 Jesus says “Love God with all your heart mind soul and strength.  Total devotion.  That doesn’t just happen.  It’s not like breathing where we don’t have to think about it.  It’s a discipline like exercise which requires be intentional.  In Luke 9:23, Jesus said if you want to follow Him, you must pick up your cross daily.  Listen, the things of this world will drown out the voice of the Lord if you are not diligent in your faith walk.  (Proverbs 8:17) “I [the Lord] love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me.”

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