"Are You Listening?"

"Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Psalm 34:11 

 

"Hearken unto me"-- or in other words, "listen to me". Listening is something that people don't do much of. Parents try to get their children to listen to what they are saying in order to keep them on the right path. Married couple's biggest complaint is that the other spouse never listens to them. We live in an age where people just don't listen. Oh, they may "hear" words coming out of your mouth, but they aren't listening to what you are saying. Our society thinks they already know it all. They think that there isn't anything you can say that they haven't already heard. They already have their minds made up about something so it is a waste of their time to have to listen to what you say. They let it "go in one ear and out the other". 

 

The Psalmist was saying, "Listen to me and I will teach you the fear of the Lord". If a person doesn't listen, he won't learn. There are some things we learn through experience, but there are other things that we learn through listening. Have you ever talked to someone until you were "blue in the face" but it didn't matter what you said, how often you said it or how much emphasis you placed on what you said, they still didn't hear you and did the wrong thing anyway. 

 

It is one thing to listen, or not listen, to your parents, your spouse, your friend, a counselor, your boss, your child or someone else who is trying to tell you something, but it is another thing not to listen to the Lord. He speaks to us often and in many forms. The most frequent way He speaks to us is through His Word (the Bible). Within its pages are His words that will instruct us, guide us and help us. If we would listen to them, we would prosper and have peace. But people aren't listening-- even to God. They ignore what He says, act like they know more than He does, or excuse themselves by saying it is too difficult to understand. What is so hard to understand about-- "You shall not lie, love your neighbor, forgive those who do wrong against you, be kind, believe in Jesus, etc.? 

 

Listening is a vital part of life. We have to listen if we are going to learn anything or succeed. Are you a listener? Do you listen to others who are trying to help you? Are you listening to yourself only? Are you listening to God? 

 

Have a great day.  If you don't listen to what I say, you may miss something important. But if you don't listen to what God says it can carry eternal consequences. His words are a matter of life and death. 

 

For further reading:

Revelation 3:6

Isaiah 34:1

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

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