Tag: listening

Listening

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture4 Comments

Yesterday was my every six month visit with my primary care physician. One of the things that I do when I go to the doctor is tell him how I have been physically for the previous six months. Achy bones, visits to the ER, consultations with specialists, lab tests and results and blood pressure are all topics that I tell him about. Wonder what he would do if, after telling him all I had to say, I picked up my purse and walked out of the exam room? I think he would be concerned about my sanity for one, and he would probably insist that I sit back down and listen to what he has to say.

Sometimes, I think I go before God and tell Him my list of complaints, maladies and wish list, and then, before He can say a word to me, I get busy doing something else. Not very respectful, is it? God wants us to learn to listen to Him just as we listen to our doctors and others that we trust to take care of our physical body. God is taking care of our body, soul and spirit, so the least we can do is take the time to hear what He has to say.

God speaks to us in His Word, but we have to apply it to ourselves personally and ask the Lord to help us make His Word and its truth a daily part of our lives. We cannot know God’s teaching and commands if we don’t habitually and faithfully read and study His Word.

If I went into the doctor’s office, told him my problems and then told him that I knew just what he needed to do to make me better, I don’t think it would turn out well for me. One of us in that office has a degree in medicine and I’m not the one. It’s the same with trusting God. He is the only One who knows everything, sees everything and can point me in the right direction. I go to God in prayer daily, and I am training myself to be still after I pray and to just listen. God will speak to my heart if I will be quiet and let Him know that I am willing to hear what He has to say.

Taking up my cross daily means a daily denial of “me first” and consciously making decisions that put Jesus first. Sometimes, it means that I don’t get the things done on my “to do” list because Jesus points out to me the needs of others and that takes precedence. Jesus is first, others are next. I am last in my own list of priorities. It sounds like it’s backwards. But if you think about being on an airplane when the oxygen masks descend, you are always told to take care of the child next to you first (or the elderly person) and then put on your own mask. Others first…they yourself. I think I have shared it before, but there is an acronym for the way we are to make choices in life: JOY= Jesus first, Others second, and yourself last. That’s where you can find the joy in serving that God means for each of us to have and the denial of self in our choices.

I had a milestone anniversary this week! On Thursday, January 23rd, I celebrated ten years of being a stroke survivor! Praise God that He has kept me, is keeping me and will keep me…until He calls me home!

Happy New Year and a New Focus Word

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments
Click on the image to make it larger so you can read the small print. 😊

I don’t make resolutions. I found out long ago that making a resolution was an exercise in futility that generally ended up frustrating me because I couldn’t carry it out. Lose weight? Good idea…but didn’t happen. Sleep more by going to bed earlier and sleeping later. Great idea…again, didn’t happen. So, after years of promising myself that I would do better, I changed my resolution to a focus word. I have been doing that for the last five or so years now. My focus word for 2024 was “trust.” I have always had difficulty trusting people after my father disappointed me so much, so I also had problems trusting God. I didn’t (and sometimes still don’t) want to relinquish control. Having “trust” as my focus word made me more mindful of when I was holding too tightly to the reins and not trusting God to be in loving control.

This year’s word is “listen.” I thought I was listening to others and to God, but I have discovered through self-reflection that I was treating God just like I do people. I was always thinking about the next thing I would say instead of listening with complete attention to what He was saying. So, for this year, I want to try to work on my active listening skills, with people and with God.

Honestly, I made excuses for my behavior, telling myself that at my age, if I didn’t say my thoughts, chances are I would forget them. God has been dealing with me about trusting Him to help me remember what I want to say and, in the meantime, to actually listen. You’re probably saying to yourself that listening isn’t hard and shouldn’t require practice. But ask yourself how many times you listen so attentively that you can paraphrase what the person said and respond to it appropriately. How many times do you “zone out” or interrupt? For me, it isn’t easy to listen attentively and actively, so that is why it’s my focus word.

I found this graphic online to help me to remember what active listening looks like.

The big one for me is DO NOT TALK! God will be speaking to me through His Word and I want to express my opinions to Him. That shouldn’t be happening. I can talk to God when He is done talking to me, and not one minute before. Can you imagine Jesus interrupting the Father and telling Him just what He thought about the whole crucifixion thing? I am pretty sure that Jesus spent a lot of time listening to the Father because He consistently quoted the Scriptures in His teaching.

My point is simple. I wish for you all to have a happy, safe and healthy new year. Of course, I want that for me, too. But I also want to learn to be a better listener, someone with empathy and compassion, not someone who comes across as just too busy to take time to listen. And I want to hear what the Father is saying because He is the One with all of the wisdom, so I am thinking that listening to Him may improve my ability to apply wisdom to the circumstances of my life. At the very least, I want to be more aware of when I am actively listening and try to improve my stats on that skill.

Another short graphic to remind me that listening shows respect.
ATP: Attend, Think, Participate (I love to use acronyms!)

Finally, from Scriptures I have found about listening:

You have to listen in order to hear; then you can reflect on what you have heard and give your answer. From experience, I know that when I don’t listen to what my husband says, we end up having a disagreement, all because I didn’t take time to listen.
I really don’t think that I want to be known as a fool, so I would rather learn to keep quiet and listen. It’s amazing what you can hear when you are tuned in!
Wow! The promise is that God WILL tell me great and hidden things. How will I know what He is saying if I am not willing to be quiet and listen? When we ask for wisdom or any kind of help in a situation, do we actually sit and wait, listening to the answer? Or do we move on with our day, without paying attention to the fact that God was speaking if we had only listened? I am talking to myself here, but if this truth applies to you too, I’m glad that we can work together on the skill of listening.

The Battle Belongs to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App5 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/26710/day/1

I am the person who gets overwhelmed easily when there is no way that I can make a plan to get out of a situation or solve a problem. I want a solution to present itself readily, a problem that I can attack and then work it out to a satisfying conclusion. Unfortunately, Isaac’s cancer is not such a situation or a problem. I don’t see what the end may be and I have nothing to do with the solution. However, I can “fight on my knees” and let God know how I am feeling about this whole “Big C” thing. I want to be a source of strength and encouragement for my son and his family, especially our grandson. We are going to make the trip tomorrow to see Isaac and take him to lunch. We have tried to see him before but he has been busy with his college classes, medical appointments and just life and dealing with it. When my husband finally got in touch with him last night, he said he is free tomorrow, so we made a plan to take him out and spend some time with him. I want to be a good listener, a heart that reaches out in love with the same unconditional love that God shows me. May this be the first of many times that we get to spend with Isaac, sharing and caring and listening to his heart’s cry. If all I can do in this battle is be there to listen, may I be the best listener that God could ever use! Let us be a support system for him when his world and the plans he made for this future seem to be cracking apart. God is still right there, and we want Isaac to know His presence and His love without a shadow of a doubt!

A Hard Heart

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

I don’t know if I am the only one, but I admit that I am having difficulty talking to people about the Lord these days. It’s not because I’m not talking, but it seems to be that they are turning a deaf ear to whatever I am saying. I feel like the problem lies not in my speech or in their hearing but in their hearts. People just want to sin, believing either that there is no such thing as judgment or believing that they still have time to change should they want to or believing that they are just fine as they are. Of course, there is scripture about this condition of the heart.

God knew when He sent Moses and Aaron to talk to Pharaoh that he would not listen. Yet, God offered the truth to him anyway, and a chance to change along with it. But Pharaoh continued to harden his heart even to the end and his ultimate destruction. I am convinced that there are people today who won’t listen to anyone God sends to them because they have hard hearts. They are determined to go to eternity without God and I am afraid that God will allow them to perish in their sins because they refuse to acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. I cannot change other people’s free choices, but I can and will continue to testify about God’s power, greatness and gift of salvation. It is up to the individuals whether they choose to listen and change or not. I can only do what God has told me to do and then leave the decisions up to the person, praying that God will soften their hearts to really hear and accept the truth.

May you never give up telling the truth and may God bless you with fruitfulness, listening ears and a soft heart in each one you speak with. Have a blessed day!

Thankful for God Who Hears

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

We are constantly assailed by noise in our modern world of gadgets and technology. If I go into the city, which I try not to do very often, there are horns, sirens and booming bass coming from cars with the volume turned too high. I cannot help but wonder how people carry on conversations in such an atmosphere. Then, I realized that they really don’t. Each person is isolated in his or her own world, many of them with ear pods in their ears and listening to music, a podcast or even a phone conversation. But what they are not listening to is the person walking beside them. It’s amazing to be that one can be right next to another person and totally unaware when they ask a question or make a comment.

I am very thankful today that God hears me when I cry out. He never puts in ear buds and thinks that today will be the day He will cut Himself off from the demanding and stubborn people that He created. Rather, He is always attentively “on call” and ready to hear us when we cry out to Him, ready to answer. I am in awe that with all of the noise going on in the world, at least in my small corner of it that I can perceive, God can still hear my cry to Him. I am one voice and yet my Father in Heaven is tuned in to me and my needs, willing and able to come to my aid. There are no ear pods that God uses to block us out and I am very thankful for the fact that God would never use ear pods because He desires to hear my cries to Him. Whether I am crying out a desperate prayer for help or a song of worship, God hears. He doesn’t block me as some do on social media, nor does He turn His back on me and pretend that I don’t exist. He acknowledges that I am His and listens.

I am filled with wonder that God can hear each of us simultaneously, as if there were only one of us to listen to. I remember when I was at home alone with our three children and inevitably the day would end, all three would come in excited to tell me the day’s events, but they would all speak at once. I had to calm them down and have them take turns, trying to remember who went first the previous day so that I was not playing favorites. Isn’t it awe-inspiring that God can listen to each of us all at the same time and hear everything that we are saying? He cares, He loves and He desires to hear about our days, our troubles and our needs that we lay before Him. He doesn’t have to choose one to go first, but He hears all of us. My mind cannot conceive of such a Creator, but I know that it is true because the Bible says He hears us. And I’m fairly certain that when I pray, I am not the only one praying at that moment in time. I don’t have to wait for my turn to talk to God because it is always my turn…and yours.

God answers my call because He hears me. He is always listening, and for that I am very thankful. Today, I want to tune out the world and plug into listening to God just as He is always attuned to my cry.

May you be blessed today with the absolute assurance that God is listening to you, fully attentive and with a heart filled with love for you.

Compassion

On By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

I have to confess that my compassion has been sorely tested this last week. Staying with someone who is absorbed by bitterness and anger is frustrating and hurtful. Every morning I need new strength to face whatever that day’s complaints are. And then, God shows me words from His Holy Word that pierce my soul and let me know that what I am doing, the small things that I accomplish daily, are but a drop in the bucket to the compassion He would like to teach me to have.

It’s hard to sing a song of praise around someone who is morose, grieving so many losses in her life. But I sing quietly to myself and then go out to just listen and offer quiet words of comfort. That has been my life this week.

I have found that I need to get ready each day with the armor of God but also with compassion and kindness and patience. The situation is not likely to change, but I can change how I react to it. I know that I would have problems dealing with all that my sister is dealing with, so I am trying to see things through her eyes. Her vision is clouded with macular degeneration and her heart’s vision is clouded with bitterness. But I can see clearly that what she needs is a touch from the Lord and that is what I am praying for and then waiting for the answer.

Jesus did not come so that we can hold grudges but so that we can forgive and be forgiven. This last week has been hard, but kindness has helped.

So, I wait for God to act. I have advised, prayed, given quiet counsel and listened. Now, the infinite wisdom and love of God needs to take over in all of the places where I have failed to make a difference, to consume a bitter life with His unending love. And so I wait.

For what are you waiting? God’s timing is always perfect, so no matter how long it takes, persist in prayer and wait patiently for the Lord to act. His way is not my way, but His way is perfect and that’s what I am waiting for.

Have a blessed day as you wait or as you rejoice because this time the waiting is over for you!

Arrogance in Speaking

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

I must honestly admit that I did not listen to President Biden’s speech last night, mostly because his rhetoric and pandering to the liberal left sicken me. However, I do subscribe to “The Daily Wire” and received a copy of Tim Scott’s rebuttal on my SafeChat newsfeed this morning. His entire speech can be found here, and he shows that he “gets it.” He understands that a nation divided against itself cannot stand and that America needs to be united, not torn apart.

Tim Scott’s Rebuttal in The Daily Wire

I’m not going to debate politics here, but I do want to point out what the Holy Bible says about speech, specifically in relationship to actions. Note that in this verse we are admonished not to be arrogant in our speech. In what ways do we show arrogance when we are speaking? I think we do this each time we rush through a conversation with someone whom we don’t consider important in our lives. We just want to move on to the next thing that we consider critical or meaningful, and if the person to whom we are speaking is not part of that plan, we rush our words and turn away. Sometimes, we don’t even listen to them. I think that we show arrogance when we insist that our opinion is the right one and there is no other. There is only One Way to Heaven, that is true. But all of the rest of our opinions are just that…our own opinions. Even my statement about Joe Biden’s rhetoric is only my opinion, and I sincerely believe that you are entitled to your opinion as well. I think that we show arrogance when we don’t take time to listen. We interrupt, talk more loudly and insist that our conversation partner listen to us when we refuse to take the time to listen to them. A wise pastor once told me that we need to listen twice as much as we speak. I have found that I can learn a lot about people just by listening.

All knowledge comes from God and we need to give Him the credit for that instead of pontificating with our own views. The only knowledge that is important is about God and leading people to God and away from sin. After all, God is going to examine all of our actions and I have found that most generally, my actions follow my speech. If I am irate at a certain person for taking my time, my actions are to walk away from them as quickly as I can. Is that what Jesus would have done? How would Jesus act in the current political climate of divisiveness? Would He have taken sides or would He simply have continued to do as the Father instructed Him, teaching and healing and just being the example that we need to follow? If you believe that the latter is true, should we all not be examples for others to follow, leading others to the Father and to eternal life?

One of the reasons that I appreciate Senator Scott’s speech is that he seemed to give it with humility. He didn’t pretend to know everything; however, he did give insight into his own humble beginnings so that I could relate to him as a person instead of one of 100 Senators governing us. He called for unity, a real cry of my heart. Finally, he made the point of saying that you cannot fight discrimination with more discrimination. Shaming white children for being white is no better than shaming others for their skin color. As I told my students when I was teaching: “We are all kin to each other because we are all descended from Noah, regardless of our skin color. Skin color is just melatonin. It doesn’t make me who I am. That’s my choices which form my character.” I liked that Tim Scott knows God’s truth and acts like it. His actions have shown me that he does care about others. He tried to get a common sense police reform bill passed. He has fought for justice in the Senate during the time that he has served and has been an outspoken advocate for the people. Finally, he has not enriched himself on the backs of the people whom he claims to serve. I point out these actions because I want to remind people that God hears the speech, and He judges the actions.

May each of you have a blessed day with God guiding your footsteps and putting a watch over your mouth as He opens your ears to hear.