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WEEKLY ENCOURAGEMENT
Updated: Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My husband and I recently taught a marriage seminar here at our church. The main emphasis was on the five love languages. One of the love languages is that of quality time. This way of showing love includes quality conversation. Wow! This one seems to be particulary hard for most of us. What does quality conversation require? It requires giving the one speaking your undivided attention. It means not just hearing but listening to the one speaking to us. It requires that we stop doing other things and look at and pay attention to, the one talking to us.
Oswald Chambers made a very interesting statement: "We don't consciously and deliberately disobey God - we simply don't listen to Him." When I read this, I immediately thought about the love language of quality conversation. Do we read God's word, and even spend time in prayer and yet fail to LISTEN and pay attention to what He is actually saying to us? He gives us commandment, warnings, and instructions, but are we listening? Have you ever been reading your Bible and noticed your eyes are on the words, but your thoughts are thinking about what to fix for lunch, or the meeting you may have later in the day? When you are finished you may wonder why "the Bible just doesn't seem to give you much". Would you call this giving God your undivided attention?
Have you noticed how we tend to get excitied about something a servant of God writes in a book or presents at some seminar or meeting? Do we get as excitied about what our heavenly Father says to us? Do we listen with the same intenseness and concentration to our Lord as we do to other people?
I am afraid we would all have to admit, there are times that we lack the love and respect for God that He deserves. We don't listen to the warnings and we find ourselves in major problems. We don't obey His commandments and wonder why we don't have don't experience more of His blessings. We don't follow His instructions and lack peace and joy.
Perhaps the greatest error that results from not "listening", is we fail to show our dear Lord that we truly do love Him! Jesus said in John 14:23, "If a man love me, he will keep my words;". We can't keep something that we have not heard or paid attention to.
In spite of our lack of listening and obedience, God is so merciful, patient and loving to us.
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
1 Peter 5:7"The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry."
Psalms 34:15"The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works."
Psalms 145:8-9
May we all learn to listen to what our Lord has to say to us, that we might be blessed, that we might have joy and peace and that we might have a heart and will to be obedient. Then our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ will know that we love Him.
THOUGHT TO PONDER:Maybe we don't want to listen because we are afraid of what He will say to us? Do you want to know what His will is for you?
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- Sandy HastingsApril 22, 2008 |
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