How's Your Hearing?

How is your hearing? I've got ears like a bat. I don't mean that I look like Dumbo or a chihuahua because my ears are so large. (Though I have met some folks over the years that could fit that description!) I mean that I can hear really well. Being able to hear well comes in really handy when you are a mother or a teacher. At other times, the ability to hear really well can cause some problems. Many times I have overheard someone talking about me or making a negative comment about something I had said or done. The person making the comment would have never guessed that I could hear them from that distance. Among my friends in high school, I was known for my ability to overhear others' conversations and then report gossip back to my buddies. While that is not something to be particularly proud of, it is true nonetheless.

Do you know how to hear from God? The Bible says He speaks in a still small voice. He speaks to us through His Word, he speaks through our prayer time, he speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, we often have an "inner knowing". The Bible says that God's sheep hear his voice because they know his voice, like a sheep responds to the voice of their shepherd. (John 10:1-5) When you hear a friend or relative on the phone, you know its them. Just the sound of their voice reassures you, because you know that voice. In order to know God's voice, we must spend time with him and time in His word. God also speaks through messages that are confirmed through pastors or other believers. (If you would like to learn more check out "How to Hear From God" by Joyce Meyer or "He Still Speaks" by Priscilla Shirer.)

God will always speak to us about things that line up with the Word of God. Anything that God is leading you to do will always line up with scripture. God does not tell us to do things that contradict with His Word. If you're unsure about what you're hearing, go to His WORD!

At times we can get over-confident in our hearing ability. Years ago, as a young newlywed, I thought I "heard something" in the middle of the night. I whispered to my then husband, who peeked into the kitchen and living room. Well, he thought he "saw something". The two of us were convinced we had a prowler, robber, axe-murderer, etc, in the house. He whispered into my ear to call his Dad who lived next door. The nightstand with the phone on it was on my side of the room. He headed to the closet to get his gun. I thought to myself, "Am I going to slip over there and call His Dad and draw attention to myself? or am I going to just slip under the edge of this bed and hide and hope for the best?  (Yeah, I'm a hero! Always putting others first! LOL! Sorry, but except for protecting my children, when the murderer is in the house, its every man for himself!) The Bible does say that we are to put others first and prefer others over ourselves. So, I'm going to have to pray about that and work on that a little more! Thankfully, I do have a power and boldness in the the Holy Spirit now, that I did not have at that time! Now, I might command them to leave in the name of Jesus. Then, I was at the "hide under the bed and pray real hard" level of faith.

Well,  it turns out that regardless of what I "heard" and whatever he "saw" that night, there was not anyone in the house but us. Looking back on it now, I'm not sure why I thought that anyone was going to rob us of all people. I was nineteen and in college, he was twenty-one and we lived in a single-wide trailer. What would someone have stolen, the thirty year old couch that my Mama gave us? The fifteen dollars in tips that I made at Pizza Hut that night? Ahh! The ignorance of youth)

In addition to thinking we heard something that we didn't actually hear or overhearing something hurtful that we should not have heard,  we can get ourselves into more trouble if we do not correctly understand what we hear. I had to work after hours one evening this week to provide transportation and supervision for a client after regular working hours. Before my co-worker left for the day, I made sure that I had the client's address. My co-worker, a native New Yorker, told me to go to a certain address on Shore Drive. Familiar with the city, I had no concerns that I would be able to find Shore Drive. Well, of course, I couldn't find it. I tried Mapquest. No Shore Drive existed in that city. It was getting later and later. It was almost time to be at the person's home. Quite honestly, I was freaking out. I finally called my co-worker at home. She confirmed it was Shore Drive. I told her that Shore Drive didn't exist in that city. She went outside to her car in her pajamas and got out her paperwork and said "Yes, right here it says Shore Drive. I know its Shore Drive . I have been to the home". I didn't know what to do. I said "Shore Drive? Are you saying S-H-O-R-E.  Like the ocean shore?"  She said, "No! S-H-A-W . Shaw Drive"   It was SHAW Drive, not Shore Drive. She pronounced "Shaw" the same way that I pronounce "Shore". Her New York accent and my Johnston County accent were just not computing with one another! I heard exactly what she said, but I did not UNDERSTAND her correctly.

A good sense of hearing does us no good if we don't understand what we hear. The Bible has many verses on the topic of understanding.

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.Proverbs 4:7


Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.

For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6 

Notice that all of the above scriptures equate understanding with wisdom. James1:5 says "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."  If we need wisdom or understanding in an area or a situation in our lives, all we need do is ASK! God will reward us when we seek Him for wisdom and understand. Solomon sought wisdom first and God rewarded him with great riches and wonderful possessions. (He also had 700 wives, but that's a story for another blog. Even though we are given wisdom, we still have free will. That's where self discipline comes in!)

What are you hearing from God lately? If you haven't had a conversation with Him, then you haven't heard anything at all! When you talked to Him, did you stop long enough to actually listen?  What have you read in the Bible lately? What messages are you hearing in sermons?

Take time today to LISTEN to God. Take time to ask for wisdom and understanding to know how to handle the situations in your life! I promise...He knows more than you!