Listen!

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Category: Fingerpost | Aug 1972

Did you know that on an average day people spend more time listening than they do speaking? It is the claim of experts in the field of verbal and written communication that 45% of an average day is spent in listening, 30% in speaking, 16% in reading, and 9% in writing. It is startling to realize, at times, that we have all been taught to speak, both at home and at school, but few have been instructed in the art of listening.

There was a time when we enjoyed the song of the bird, the beauty of the flower, and the wonder of the blue sky, which were all reminders of the great Creator who became our Saviour. But we now seem to have so little time to listen, to see and to read. The result can only be detrimental to our natural and spiritual lives. We must learn to quieten our souls (Ps. 131:2), and hear God speaking to us. "Be still", He says, "and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10), and we must listen. "Sit still", Naomi said to Ruth, "until thou know how the matter will fall" (Ruth 3:18). Ruth listened, and she saw God's purpose unfold in her life. "Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD", was the message to king Jehoshaphat, and because he listened the enemy were defeated while the people were singing and praising the LORD (2 Chron. 20:22). By listening the king also heard these assuring words, "Fear not, nor be dismayed ... for the LORD is with you" (v.17).

Listening to God through His word will bring its blessing and encouragement to us. "Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it", said the Lord to the multitude (Luke 11:28). Why? Paul might provide the answer in his warning to the Corinthian saints. "There are ... so many kinds of voices in the world", he wrote, "and no kind is without signification" (1 Cor. 14:10). Some voices would tell us today that we should be experiencing the spectacular, or the "charismatic", as it is described, despite what the word of God has to say. But when the three disciples saw the Lord transfigured on the mount, and Peter wanted to make three tabernacles, God spoke from a cloud saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen: hear ye Him" (Luke 9:35). He wanted them to listen. He did not want them to get things out of balance. After the scene they had witnessed had disappeared, there was still the need to listen to His Son. When Moses saw the wilderness spectacle of the burning bush that was not consumed, God called unto him. He wanted Moses to listen. Again, the scene of the bush would pass away, but the Lord would still be speaking, and unless Moses hearkened to the instructions for the deliverance of the captive Israelites, then God's purposes might be frustrated.

Listening to God's voice and being obedient to it, is what God wants from us. The human race would have been saved much grief if Eve had listened to the Lord rather than to the enemy. So shall we. We live in a world of ceaseless activity, but we must not let it reduce our ability to listen effectively. Our spiritual health depends on listening to God's word and obeying it. "Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isa. 55:3).

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Aug 1972
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