On focus and hearing and the testings of life <3
Just a quick thought for today.
The devotional I am using this year, as I have mentioned in other posts, is directed toward mothers. Many of the devotions seem to be written to moms with their little ones still filling up the table and halls and laundry room of the home, but a mom is a mom is a mom til she dies and even then…still a mom…so I find the daily counsel helpful in my life.
Today’s entry was talking about how much unsolicited advice there is available to mothers from the first appearance of a growing abdominal area. This continues, and I have to cringe as I have definitely offered my fair share of advice that was never asked for.
I try to be careful, but there is just something in us that does this.
However, the author of the piece this morning was pointing out that we have freedom to tune out all the voices and seek each day to listen for God’s counsel in our lives. This actually may come from a human, but our hearts should be set to be God-pleasing and not people-pleasing.
If we train our ears to hear from Him, we will be able to filter out other voices. That is the point, not only for mothers but for all children of God.
As I pondered this and read the prayer at the end asking for help to seek to hear only His voice, I thought of the hearing test I took yesterday.
I currently have a constant ringing in my ears, so when the doctor placed headphones on me and handed me a buzzer to press whenever I heard a tone, I asked her if I would be able to distinguish it from the current cacophony playing inside of me.
She said she would use a wave note so it would be different. That helped.
Then at various times she would say, you need to ignore the static sounds that will be going in your other ear and just focus on the tone. I was to press the button no matter how faint it sounded.
I may have mentioned before but I am a recovering perfectionist whose great desire is to see an A+ on every score card.
So I sat in the chair, holding that buzzer in my hand and listening hard for the wave sounds. The ringing of my ear canal was enhanced by the headphones and the static she told me about came in various degrees of intensity.
I found the only way I could focus and hear the sounds was to keep reminding my brain to listen for the sound I knew she was using just like I was expecting to hear a buzzer going off somewhere in the house.
By focusing on the sound I wanted and needed to hear, the other sounds could be ignored.
What a great follow up this devotion was to me after a practical teaching was placed in my lap, or I guess my ears, yesterday.
I can’t hear God’s voice by listening to all the voices around me and hoping to pick and choose which is His.
I hear God’s voice by training my ear to hear only that in the midst of all the voices. And to do this I have to know what He sounds like. As I read and study His Word, as I pray and quiet my heart for what He has to say, I go out into all the voices that are telling me what to do and I ask Him to speak to me through the chatter.
I set my heart and mind to hear only His voice and I expect that I will hear it.
Just feel like a little prayer is the best way to end this today.
Heavenly Father, there is no end to the voices and opinions and advice in my daily walk. I don’t have to even go out somewhere and enter into conversation. The media, internet and social platforms available to me are quite willing to share thoughts and ideas for how to live and move in this culture. But if I listen to all of them, I end up in confusion and doubt.
Jesus said your sheep would know your voice and that He is my good Shepherd. So today, I train my ears to hear the sound of your voice and I set my heart to tune out the noise of strangers. I know that sometimes you will speak through other people in my life, so give me wisdom to recognize your voice through them.
Thank you for your love and care for me and for my friends and family.
You are good and kind and I want to follow in your steps.
In Jesus name
Amen