My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. 
(John 10:27)
I ran into an old friend yesterday. In the midst of a very hard time they conceded that somehow they’ve lost their ability to hear from God. That’s incredibly sad news. BUT most troubling to me is that they are planning to plod ahead without stopping to address this deafness. As crazy as it sounds, it is far too easy for us to slide into that pattern. We say, “Well I have to do this or get this done and THEN I’ll take care of it”. That busyness tempts us by offering some strange comfort via distraction, but it will leave us spiraling off course with no eternal sense of direction and purpose. In the end, our distractions leave us exhausted, confused and frustrated with God. But the real culprit is our lack of hearing. Here are some hearing aids that can help:
- Be confident-you are wired to hear from God! Jesus declares repeatedly that His sheep WILL hear His voice. One of the enemy’s biggest tricks is to convince you that hearing from God is either beyond your ability or just plain weird.
- Are you lost? We are wired to FOLLOW. The big problem with plodding ahead without hearing God is you get lost. Then you are moving along like the stubborn driver who refuses to stop and get directions! Stop.
- Are you alone? On one hand hearing God is our personal responsibility, but on the other hand it is meant to be a community affair. We need others who help us listen. These aren’t people who are telling us what God is saying, but rather listening along side us and helping us make sense of what we are hearing. If you don’t have a number of folks that you can process with you are in danger of going deaf.
- Are you distracted? Oh there’s a weird comfort by saying “la, la, la, la I’m not listening”. I know people who get addicted to that. Don’t. If this little post is poking at you it’s for a reason. Take some time to listen right now. Notice where your thoughts go. Watch what feelings come up. Remember the last thing God said to you. Now find a friend you can confide in. Stop plodding ahead aimlessly and ask for directions!
