I’m not gonna lie: I am NOT a morning person, BUT — The Lord likes to wake me up early whether I think I need to be or not. I can never get back to sleep, so I end up getting up, wander around and drink too much coffee. More often than not, I end up writing during the wee hours of the morning, which I find odd, because I can barely form an intelligent sentence with my mouth at 6 am. But — My fingers seem to know what they’re doing, so I give credit to God for that. So in that spirit, GOOD MORNING FAMILY & FRIENDS!! 😀
I want to tell you today about listening to God. Now hold on, hold on, before you think I’m gonna get all bossy-preachy over here, let me explain; I’m not talking about listening to rules and regulations. I personally hate rules. I’ve always followed the rules, (for the most part, anyway) BUT I don’t like them. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about listening for God’s call on your heart to follow him down whatever path he leads you to. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” — Let’s think about that: ‘Be still’ — Stop moving. Be quiet. Rest a moment. Meditate. Listen. — ‘and know that I am God’ — Who is God? The creator of the entire everything. I mean, like seriously! EVERYTHING! He made it ALL. All He’s telling you to do, is ‘Listen to me, and let me handle this.’ When this was written, there were wars, strife, turmoil of all sorts going on. And there was God saying “Be still.” Why? Wouldn’t it be a tad difficult what with all the fighting? How can the Lord expect people in the midst of war, to stop and listen to Him?
I’ll tell you — because that’s when we need Him the most! When there’s all sorts of drama going on, and you don’t know which way to turn, or what to do — THAT’s the moment you need to “STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!” You remember that, don’t you? That’s what you’re supposed to do when you come to a train track. Why? Because you need to focus, in order to be safe. Think about that for a minute. God tells you to “be still” so you can be safe. In that moment, when your mouth is closed, and your eyes and ears are open, you can hear Him speak to your heart.
This hearing God thing – it doesn’t always happen overnight. Sometimes it take a while and it takes practice. I think it has more to do with the person doing the listening than with God, Himself. Why? Because some people learn fast and continue to make progress. Some of us – like me – take a little longer to get to the point where we finally let go of our own selfish need to control every situation and let God take care of it. But honestly, that’s what we NEED to do. Be still, and know that He is God. If you ask Him to lead you in the direction He wants you to go – He will do exactly that! That’s how I got to be here. I finally stopped trying to control every situation by stressing out and having temper tantrums. I STOPPED what I was doing. I LOOKED to God for direction. I LISTENED to His word on my heart. I’ll tell you something – I’m 48 years old, and I am finally doing what I should have done a long time ago! I’m trusting in the Lord, and I finally feel peace in my heart for the first time. Praise the Lord! 🙂
Proverbs 3:4-6: “So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.…”
C.A. Bennett 