Are You Listening Impaired?

Obedience is something we all struggle with at some point in our lives. Whether it would be obeying our parents, another authority figure, or even God, we all eventually fall short of total and full obedience. Does that mean we should just throw in the towel and give up? No. That just means it is even more important to be aware of your own personal life and your own personal walk with Jesus Christ, so when difficult circumstances arise, you know where to gain your strength and confidence from, the Lord. In Psalm 85, the psalmist is asking God for revival. He is asking God to give his people another chance. They’ve made mistakes and they’ve messed up, just like we all have. The biggest difference is that they have it recorded for all of man-kind to see. I cannot even imagine having a book out there with all of my blunders recorded in it. That would be difficult. When I was reading this passage, the part that stuck out to me the most was verse 8. It says, “I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.” I had to stop and think for a moment of all the times that I have failed to listen carefully to others around me and have made mistakes because of it. Then I had to ask myself, “Do I listen carefully to what God is saying to me?” While there is not a book out there about each one of us that holds all the details about all the mistakes we have made and continue to make, some of us still make the same ones over and over again. We still haven’t learned what the problem is. I’m not saying that you should dwell on your past mistakes and beat yourself up trying to figure out why you made them, or why you may even be continuing to make them. What I am saying is this: Are you paying attention to what God is saying to you? Are you listening carefully to him and for him? The Israelites heard God loud and clear over and over and over again, but they still weren’t listening to what he had to say. They were continuing to follow their foolish ways. They were continuing to stay in their comfort zone, right where they were. They were stuck right where they were because they were not listening and following in obedience. Think about it, are you just hearing God, or are you really listening intently to him? Are you repeating the same mistakes over and over again? Chances are there’s something that needs to change in your life if that is the case. Just keep in mind, that no matter where you are right now, God loves you infinitely more than you could possibly imagine and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that could ever lessen or even take his love away from you. No matter how many times you have messed up, Jesus is always willing to take you back. He keeps no record of wrongs and neither should you. Take some time today to sit in the quiet solace and intently listen for God’s voice. You might be surprised at what you hear.