Peace family, how many problems could be solved by us simply taking the time to listen to someone?
Something that has frustrated me greatly over the years, is when people assume that they know what I think or feel, but they do not ask me. I’m sure that bothers you, too. No one likes to feel misunderstood, or as though others do not care enough to listen. I hate it even more when people do ask, or I open myself up to tell them, but they still do not listen to what I say, sometimes even forming opinions that are contrary to what I am taking the time and energy to share with them. I know I’m not perfect, but I do try very hard to pay attention not only to what someone is telling me, but also to their body language, to what’s going on around them, and to reasons why they might be feeling what they are feeling.
This is something that has been frustrating me lately, but it makes me want to reconsider how often I do this to God. How many times have I continued to struggle, despite God making some things very clear in his Bible? How many times have I made excuses for my sins? How many times have I lived in fear, or anger, or depression, or many other types of bondage, because I am not taking the time to read his Bible and know what it says, nor believed it when I do read it?
Don’t a lot of our problems come from not believing God’s promises to us, or assuming, and even claiming or teaching, that God is one way, when the Bible clearly proves his character to be a different way, and not what is convenient, easy, or politically correct for us and our culture?
In Luke 6, Jesus says, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” He tells the story of those who listen to his words and put them into practice being like a man who builds his house on a firm foundation, a rock. Those who hear the words but do not put them into practice, are like a man who builds on sand, and his house is destroyed when a storm comes.
Peace family, in order establish our lives on the stability of “the rock,” we need to know what he says, what he thinks, and how he feels. The best way to do that is to know what his word, the Bible, says. If it’s been a while since you’ve really read it, why not give it a try today? Find a plan that works for you. If you have trouble reading, you can listen! You can even find audio versions for free on the internet, such as at this sight: https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/
Let’s go deeper in the Bible today. Let’s listen to God, so that we can be confident of what his heart is, no matter what society says.
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