Isaiah 55:3Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. Did you catch the part about the ears being wide open, not the eyes? We normally say our eyes were wide open, but this is different. Why ears? Have you ever watched a scary movie (or Jaws or something similar) with the sound down so you can’t hear? If you try it, you’ll notice that it’s not nearly as scary without the sound. The ominous theme song, the little noises in the background that you don’t consciously recognize, the creaking board…. all these add to the feeling of suspense. Without them, it’s just not the same. We get a lot out of our ears. A lot of what we hear we don’t even register. God wants our ears open. Not just subconsciously, but truly open and listening. He wants to speak, but it’s so easy to miss His voice if we’re not listening, if our ears aren’t wide open and paying attention, taking it all in. The life of our soul is at stake, and if we miss His voice so many sad things can happen. There are lots of times in my life when I wish my ears had been wide open and I’d been listening because then, maybe, I could have avoided some of the messes that I found myself in. God doesn’t yell (at least not often). His voice isn’t in the fire or the wind or the thunder. His voice is a whisper, and if we don’t pay attention, if our ears aren’t wide open, then we’ll miss those gentle words. It’s so easy to go through the day focused on ourselves and what we have to say. It’s much harder to keep an ear tuned for God’s voice speaking in our ears.
Isaiah 48:18Oh that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves. I can’t even begin to tell you how I wish I had followed God’s commands at certain points in my life. One of the things that frustrated me the most was not always knowing if I was doing what God wanted. I still wonder about that. But, the only way to really know God’s voice is to get to know Him. And the only way to do that is to take time…. which is a challenge when you have 2 small children! But there it is. I need to make time for the important things. At the church where my children attend daycare there is a sign with messages. The last few weeks the sign has said “If God has asked you to perform a great deed, expect opposition.” That sounds like the story of our life! I truly believe that my husband, John, has been called to things that are not so common. I also believe that that is a part of what we’ve been facing for the last few years – opposition to discourage us and to drive us away from God. Sadly, this opposition has served its purpose well at times. But, knowing you’re in a battle is half the battle won – at least we can plan for the fight once we know we’re in one. So, now it becomes an issue of minimizing the opposition, or finding ways to overcome it. Another book I read that I’ve recommended in the past (In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day) said that worship is the way out. In the middle of the opposition, whether its from a failure to listen to God’s voice or from an attack to discourage, worshiping God shifts focus from what’s wrong and what the problem is and refocuses me on the Problem Solver, and what is good. Although worship is important part of my life, there are a lot of times when I have to remind myself to find the good in the circumstances so I don’t get discouraged. Despite my struggles, I am really blessed in so many ways.