Stop, Look, and Listen
“Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.” Proverbs 8:34
Did you ever eavesdrop on someone’s conversation? Sometimes we do that intentionally if we think we might hear some information that is pertinent to us. Other times we just listen to get some juicy gossip, which we know is sinful, and shame on us for being so eager to hear things said about someone else. We do not like it if others gossip about us. It all goes back to the golden rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. There are times, though, when we overhear something of which we really weren’t trying to hear, and at times those things we accidentally hear as well as what we hear intentionally we wish we had not heard. They, those folks who seem to know everything, say that ignorance is bliss, and I can think of things that I would have been better off not knowing.
There are times, though, when we should be eager to hear advice, admonitions, and words of encouragement, but also words of warning. Those are the times when God is speaking. He wants us to listen to Him, actually to make listening to Him a priority in our lives. I remember an episode of the television show, “Blue Bloods”, when the family sat around the dinner table discussing a case wherein a young woman told the detective that God told her who killed her mother. This law enforcement family is portrayed as a family of faith in the Lord, yet they questioned the woman’s claim that God spoke to her. They were not only skeptical that God revealed to her the identity of her mother’s murderer, they also displayed skepticism that God would actually speak to someone. The writers of the show’s script apparently have little knowledge of the relationship between God and His followers.
I have never heard God speak audibly to me, but there were times in scripture when He did speak directly to a few of His servants. However, this was prior to the filling of the Holy Spirit which came at Pentecost to Jesus’ disciples (Acts 2:1-4). There were times when God would speak through a dream or a sign. In one instance in the Old Testament, Gideon, one of the judges over Israel, desired to hear from God concerning God’s command for him to fight for Israel. The method that Gideon used to ascertain God’s will for him involved putting a fleece of wool on the ground. If the dew fell only on the fleece and the ground stayed dry, Gideon would know that he was correctly hearing from God. However, still not sure, he wanted to try it again except this time the fleece would be dry and the ground wet. God’s response gave Gideon the answer for certain.
Ever since the Holy Spirit came as recorded in the book of Acts, every person who has been born again by repenting of sin and placing faith in Jesus Christ, has received the Holy Spirit. He is given to help the believer in living righteously for Christ, but also to allow God to speak to the believer within the believer’s spirit. God can also speak to unbelievers by way of the Holy Spirit bringing conviction of sin upon the unbeliever, but he or she may refuse to hear God’s call to repentance and continue in a life apart from God which leaves them void of the Holy Spirit and His awesome help. When God speaks to a believer, most of the time His message comes in a thought or an overwhelming desire to do some good deed, speak to someone, or as a warning against some sin that has been committed. That last one is what is known as a feeling of guilt or, as some call it, that little “red flag” that pops up within one’s spirit. The main way, though, that God speaks to us is through His written word. If we sincerely desire to hear His voice, then it behooves us to diligently study His word.
God also desires that we “watch daily at His gates” and be on standby at His door. I thought about those guards at Buckingham Palace in London. I have only seen them on television, but they stand at the gates and doors of the palace with only one mission in mind–to guard the entrances. They are not distracted in any way. Their jobs depend on their loyalty and commitment to maintain a safe and dignified environment for the queen and her family. What if believers were so committed to serving the Lord that they would let nothing distract them from their mission of serving, witnessing, and living out their faith? Since “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17), it is imperative that we listen for His voice and heed His words if our faith is to make a difference in this world.