Are you listening???

I have to share what happened to me today...it is truly a "treasure" that I stumbled across in my trials. I woke up this morning to clean the kitchen before the "floor crew" got here to replace the tile in my kitchen. They arrived and began working right away. I am not sure if you have ever been around while old tile is being removed, but it can get VERY dusty. So, I decided to leave the house to get a breath of fresh air. I went to my mom’s house to sit outside and read a bit. I did not have a particular book, so I looked on my mom’s bookshelf. There was a devotional book that caught my eye. It didn’t have a flashy cover, and the title was not breathtaking. It was simply called "A Woman’s Heart: Knowing God Today". I picked it up, along with a few other books, and went outside. I opened the devotion book to today’s message and it could not have been more fitting.

Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t hear the Lord speaking to you? Have you tried to seek God’s will only to be left uncertain? I have certainly felt this way MANY times. I feel as though I beg God to show me His will, only to be left unsure. The devotion I read dealt specifically with that. It was titled “Listening to God”. How appropriate…I began to read. The first scripture it referenced was from Isaiah 41:1 (NLT). It says, “Listen in silence before me…” WOW, that was my answer. I was instantly convicted. There are so many “things” going on in my life that I do not take the time to listen. The most convicting part about this is that I feel the same way about my students. I feel like they ask me how to do something, or what to do, and when I go to help them and give them an answer, they go on to other “things”. I am doing the EXACT same thing with my walk with God. So many times, I feel as though God is “listening”, but the problem is that I am not listening.

The devotion goes on to talk about how there are times that God speaks loud and clear, and I have experienced that personally as well. But, it is the deeply personal things that God wants you (me) to slow down for a bit and LISTEN. He probably isn’t going to fly the answer overhead on an airplane banner, and He probably isn’t going to make the bushes in my front yard speak to me audibly, but He is going to answer. It is my responsibility to listen. With this being said, I cannot help but wonder how many times the Lord has answered my questions and cries in subtle ways, but I was to busy to sit and listen.

I am so glad that I discovered this “treasure” today. I consider it a treasure because it is a glimpse of God’s goodness in the midst of my trials. So, I cannot promise that I will always listen as I should, but it is my own personal challenge to sit and listen as God reveals His plan for my life. Whatever it may be, I know He will be with me every step of the way.

I leave you with this…

“Half an hour of listening is essential except when one is very busy. Then, a full hour is needed”
-Sir Francis of Sales