“Shhh, Listen To Me”
“Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.” Isaiah 55:3
I popped into the mall the other day to do a little shopping.
As I walked along the rail of the upper level, my eye caught something below.
You know those play areas for kids; the climb on, crawl around, let the pent up wiggles out, social arena for toddlers place? That was my focus. There, I saw her—a little girl just playing her heart out. But what really caught my eye, and ear, was her daddy trying to get her attention. She was having none of it. The foam squares and life-sized plastic animals had her mesmerized.
So, like any good parent, he walked closer and kept trying. She still wasn’t paying attention. Although they were inches apart, she was too diverted. She pointed and talked and pointed and talked all around her—the excitement was just too great to listen.
OMG, I stopped in my tracks! I saw myself down in that play area. Actually, I saw God and me in life…I was the one not listening.
Anyone else?
God so many times wants us to hear something important, yet we’re too distracted—pointing all over the place about how this or that is better than what He has to say. It’s the diversion that life over there is more of what we want and need. It’s the diversion that if we follow that person, or that belief, or no belief at all, it will be better for us. It’s the compromise of values, the making up of new rules, the explaining away instead of living His way. It’s all so distracting and attention grabbing. We point and look and turn and lose focus. We say “but, but, but Dad, this other stuff is way better.”
And let’s be honest, even when we do listen, don’t we also tend to talk over Him? I mean I give it a go, to listen to what He says, but there are times I’m just waiting to get out my list of requests. Those times of quietness may look like listening but I get my little mouth-a-going and start telling HIM to listen to ME.
Listen to what I need.
Listen to what I want.
Listen to what I will do…completely drowning Him out.
Can I share an example? It’s pretty funny. You have to watch this Internet video of a little boy who is desperately trying to get his mother’s approval to have a cupcake. It says a lot. (Click here to view)
If you don’t watch, let me just tell you, this little boy is failing at not getting the cupcake, so he relentlessly calls his mom by her name and says “listen” a hundred times over. In his mind, it is all about her listening to him and keeping her on track.
If that isn’t me talking to God sometimes, I don’t know what is! “Listen, listen, listen, God! I want, I want, I want….” It can go on for days!!
Two different kids, two different perspectives, but both teachers to my soul; one too distracted to listen and the other too intent on being heard.
It’s about the focus, it’s about the wants, and it’s about the listening. Question is, on whose side?
If I may go back to the mall and how it ended…(Lynn’s drawing is a great rendition of what I saw!)
When the dad’s talking didn’t work, he did the all-too-familiar parent thing—he moved in, touched her little chin and looked her square in the eye and said “Shhh, listen to me.” There, he locked on with her and she stood for a moment listening. With her looking up at him, he knew that she knew whatever he had to say hit that little brain to process. When he was done, she went back to playing and he went back to protecting.
May I encourage you today to be like that little child. Take a moment and realize, God is leaning in and with much importance is saying to you, “Shhhh, listen to me.” Your interest is His top priority. Turn your eyes and your ears towards heaven. Quiet the noise of distracting and asking. Lock on to what He has to say, for there in the silence you may hear beautiful noise.
“Only in silence can what you hear filter from your head to your heart.
Only in silence can you hear the heartbeat of God and His still small voice.
In quiet, you realize spiritual insights that reach far beyond words.” Joni Eareckson Tada
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Amen Marla!!!
Your post is great. I want to say though that sometimes its not so much not listening as it is who I should listen to. So many times I listen to others preach about God and what He wants or says but then I listen to someone else and their version is so different that you wonder who has the right words. I wish I could really hear God speak to me directly.
Lori–I agree, wouldn’t it be great if we had a direct telephone line to God? It rings, we pick up, we listen. That would be awesome!–but obviously we don’t. For me, it all comes down to knowing His word. In essence that is our direct line to Him. As to your question, when we know the Word, then we are not swayed by the differences in those that teach. Sure there are different avenues of teaching, but ALL words should be checked against THE Word. And in my opinion, when a believer immerses themselves into Bible, that is where silence meets the voice of God. The still small voice that instructs and makes clear what He has given. I would love to offer up more–lets chat! Thank you for reading, and thank you for being honest! My prayers will be for your ears to hear.