John 10:27 – “My sheep
listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”
Are you listening? Do
you hear what is being said? I have found several things coming to the surface
since starting the race. I found God calling things out of that I, honestly
didn’t expect. Most recently, I see Him bringing my ability and willingness to
listen, to the fore front. Interestingly, I wouldn’t have thought it to be a
problem, as I consider myself to be a pretty good listener.
In listening to others we can hear God speaking to us in another way. People say
that there are several “barriers” that people put in place when listening to what
others have to say. People may:
~ Run ahead – thinking
about what they are going to say next; planning a rebuttal
~ Wander off – being preoccupied,
thinking about personal interests or daydreaming
~ Jump in – interrupt the
other person’s thoughts to interject their own
~ Brush away – mentally categorizing the
speakers thoughts as unimportant or insignificant without duly considering
them, or assuming you already understand his or her perspective
~ Block out – refusing
to acknowledge the topic the other person is addressing, selectively filtering
the message to block out portions
Now most of us would say
that we don’t do this. But in all honesty, I have done all of these at one time or another. We may not do it with God directly but, we do at times,
do it to each other. And by doing so we can miss something that God may want us to hear.
God as been doing a
lot in me since being on the race and revealing a lot to me, I am still processing
all that God is doing and has done. I wanted to just take some time to share with
you one thing that God is doing in me. The things I see God bringing
out, are things that either I didn’t think were an issue or things I thought God
and I had already dealt with.
It is almost as if God
is taking me through a refresher course, so to speak, on things. I wonder, what
has God been trying to say to you lately through others? What does God want you
to hear? Are you listening?
listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”
