Just Listen!

"How do you want me to listen to you when you don't listen to me? " Were the words my husband told our oldest son, Caleb, as we sat on the table in Applebee's trying to have dinner. Carlos was trying to have Caleb finish his dinner and Caleb wasn't having it, so he kept interrupting him saying, "Papi but I need to talk to you." Only to say again and again that he didn't want to eat.

As I sat there looking at them, minding my own business, I thought, so this is how we must look like in front of God, our Father. You see although we don't often realize it, many times we go to prayer and we talk away a list of things that we want and walk away ignoring what He is telling us. Or we know He's telling us something and we keep interrupting Him because we just want to be heard or better yet, we simply don't want to obey. We look like a three year old interrupting our dad to repeat ourselves over and over again without listening or accepting what He is saying, which is for our good. Before I go on I want you to understand what I’m referring to when I say He is “telling us” something and us "listening" to Him. I don’t want you to think that I am referring to an audible voice, because I’m not, but I am referring to what you are seeing, and reading in His word.

So, I wonder what if instead of going to Him with a list of problems or a to-do list we quiet ourselves and go to listen to what He has to say? Can you imagine how different the circumstances in our life will be if we do what He told us to do before interrupting Him?

 "Life will be so much easier if  you were to just listen!" I have used that phrase on my son so many times and on that day that phrase came back to me. I too, am guilty of going into prayer telling God all that is wrong in my life and all that I want him to do and then just get up and go on with my day. In "best" case scenario, my desire to be heard has caused me to deafen myself to His voice. In worst case scenario, my pride or my fear has gotten in the way of obeying what He told me to do. Neither scenarios are good for me and both has harmed and can continue to harm my relationship with God.

I mean, just think about it!

How many times do you try to say something to a person and they're not listening to you before you stay quiet all together or just walk away?  How many times does that continue to happen before the communication is ruined and the relationship is no longer there? Your relationship with the other person has drifted apart because there's no communication and at times too much pride to admit it's our fault. This is the risk we run when we don't listen to God, when we're to prideful to do what He asks of us. The only difference is that He doesn't walk away but with our actions we do.

You see God is the firm foundation, he doesn't budge or move with the flow of the waves. He stays true to who He is. It is us that can't get it together and stand firm even when it seems like we're alone in a middle of a storm. It is us who get scared and start to doubt if we were supposed to be standing there in the first place. It is us who doesn't want to eat the food that has been prepared for us. It is us who keeps saying "Dad, but I need to talk to you", when He's telling us "Just Listen to me, and eat."

Our life will be so much easier even when facing tribulations, even in the midst of this pandemic if we were to just listen. With that being said, take the time to listen and above all make the decision to obey. There are things you have been putting aside for way too long, talents you have hidden for way too long, conversations you have ran away from for way too long. Today I want to encourage you to just listen and take the step.