Why We Fail to Listen to God

While not everyone suffers with hearing loss, we all suffer from time to time with “listening loss.”  We fail to pay attention, we miss an important announcement, we disregard a warning siren and all of a sudden we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of an otherwise avoidable mess.  We need to make sure we are listening…ESPECIALLY to God.

listening-dogThe good news is that God speaks to us and personally interacts with us; the bad news is sometimes, we fail to heed His voice. The Bible includes many accounts of persons who either disregarded or ignored God’s instructions and subsequently suffered the consequences.

In His landmark book and Bible study, Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby shares four ways that God speaks to us. Read More

How Your Ears Can Speak Volumes

One of baseball great Yogi Berra’s famous quotes was “you can observe a lot just by watching.”  I like to paraphrase his quote by saying, “you can hear a lot just by listening.”  Listening is a lost art.  We all want to be heard, but no one wants to take the time to genuinely listen.  Yet, listening can make our speaking so much more effective.

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I have a friend who will ask you a question, but before you have the time to answer it completely he asks another – sometimes totally unrelated – question.  Really, a conversation with him can be quite exhausting and usually seems unproductive. Because of this scenario, our conversations are mostly superficial and we never discuss deeper topics and issues.

I believe that God created us with design and intention, and as a result He purposefully gave us 2 ears and one mouth.  How would our conversations be different if we listened TWICE as much as we spoke?  Consider James’ admonition to us: Read More

3 Lessons I Learned from a Day of Eavesdropping

I took my wife’s vehicle in for an oil change Friday morning, never expecting that a visit to the Wal-Mart Auto Center would initiate a daylong spiritual reflection.  As I sat in the waiting area, I was forced to listen to two different conversations of people I did not know. I decided to pay more attention to what people around me had to say, and by listening, I came to three conclusions.

Conclusion #1: We need to be careful with our words.  One of my greatest challenges in life is discerning the times and seasons of Ecclesiastes 3:7 – a time to keep silence and a time to speak. Be mindful that ears are everywhere listening to what we say.

Conclusion #2: People are generally negative.  Most of Friday’s conversations involved complaint, criticism, and condemnation. I want to make a more conscious effort for my words to be positive and uplifting.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing.  Philippians 2:14

Conclusion #3:  People are hurting. We live in a hurting world, but we have the greatest message of hope – Jesus loves so much that He gave His life, and all who trust in Him can have meaning and purpose.  I must consciously choose words that build up others and point them to the hope that is found in Jesus.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:6

Let’s be more intentional with our words.  Let’s choose to speak grace and not grumbling.  Let’s build up and not tear down.  Let’s point people to Jesus and the hope that is found in Him.