Listen

"After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:  “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.  Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

 His disciples asked him what this parable meant.  He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’

 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.  Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.  The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."  Luke 8:1-15

Listening is a learned skill which is more than just hearing words.  Listening takes practice like any other skill and as you go along the path; there may be times where we are tempted into deafness.  The Lord speaks to us in every situation-good, bad, easy , hard.  He gives us the tools to resist temptations as well as handle situations in which the outcome delights Him.

I can honestly say I have not been a good listener based on this scripture.  I am usually consumed with thought, assumptions, hurts, worries; no wonder why I can't hear Him.  This day and age it is harder to develop these skills as I feel we are in the fast lane most of the time.  No time to slow down or you will get run over sort of mentality.  We choke ourselves to death with busyness and allow our addictions & temptations to fill our hearts.  This not only pulls us away from God's word; it also tramples the things and/or people we care about the most.  Constantly pushing them farther away from us until we are deaf and alone.  It is as if we prefer to develop our ego instead.  This in turn leads us down roads of disappointment, hurt, anger, resentment, jealousy, etc.

So how do we get back this precious skill?  All I can say is it takes time and perseverance.  There will always be difficult or unbecoming situations.  There will always be some sort of temptation.  The key is to remember we have a choice.  We have a choice as God's children to listen to His word and commit to our hearts or to fall deaf and continue a rather destructive pattern.  As Luke states that even halfway listening can leave you just as crippled as not listening at all.

So when you are faced with difficulty, temptation, and angst, remember He is speaking to you.  It is your choice to listen and choose not based on self, but on His heart and His delights.  He always gives you the answer and the knowledge to get yourself our of a rather unpleasant predicament.  All we have to do is listen!