Inclined

Jeremiah 17:23 is the opposite of what we read a couple of days ago:

Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.

I remember when I was a teenager I would hum a tune in my head to “tune out” my mom when she was disciplining me too long.  I didn’t want to hear what she had to say.

It’s a sad day when we do that to our God. 

Notice, we have to “incline” our ears (turn toward him), loosen our necks (turn toward him) and listen and receive his correction (turn toward him)!

Hearing God requires an action on our part, of turning toward Him, face to face, listening to his kind instruction and discipline, and then nodding and agreeing with what He says.

God is not like our earthly parents, who sometimes discipline out of anger.  

God is the very definition of love, and we can trust that what he says is true and trustworthy to be obeyed.

Unstopped

Isaiah 35 is probably one of my favorite chapters…here’s a part of it:

Say to those with anxious heart,

“Take courage, fear not.

Behold, your God will come with vengeance;

The recompense of God will come,

But He will save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened

And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

Then the lame will leap like a deer,

And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

For waters will break forth in the wilderness…

Back when we were discussing eyes, we read about the blind eyes being opened.  Now we see that the deaf ears will be unstopped. 

Can you imagine being beside a person who has never heard a whisper, the rise and fall of musical melodies, and the playful laughter of children, when their ears are unstopped and they hear everything at once?

It’s going to happen. All of the wrongs in this world are going to be set right, and it will cause great celebration among all who witness this great miracle that is coming to those who believe.

Believe what?

That Jesus is the Son of God and he is savior of the World, and he lives now, and he lives in us!

You'll Hear

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

I’ve prayed and asked for direction many times in my life and I’ve heard no reply, whatsoever.  Maybe I wasn’t listening, maybe I asked something that was already clearly laid out in his Word, or maybe he was silent because he was busy at work in some other area of my life.

Or maybe…I just needed to rest in the fact that I belong to Him and if I don’t clearly hear a “word” then I can just walk and trust that He is with me.

When we hold our child’s hand he doesn’t constantly look up and ask where we’re going, he just holds our hand and he walks beside us (unless he’s at the age where he pushes our hand away – and then that’s a whole other problem!)

Trust today that the Lord has hold of your hand and will not let go, and if you’re stepping in the wrong direction he’ll gently guide you back on the right path.

Keep listening, but when you hear nothing, keep walking and just trust…

APPLY

Proverbs 23:12 

Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge.

If you’ve ever edited a photo and added text or effects, you know that you have to hit APPLY or SAVE to make those changes show up. 

It’s the same with discipline and knowledge that we learn from walking with Him on a daily basis.

Our good, good Father disciplines us and teaches us from his Word, but if we don’t receive it and listen and acknowledge and ingest it all – we walk away unchanged – much like looking in a mirror and seeing something awry and walking away without making it right.

There have been many times in my life where I’ve heard wonderful words of wisdom but left them on a shelf until it was too late to use them.

Listen to your Father today and hit APPLY and SAVE and then observe the changes…

The Work of Man

Psalm 115 says 

Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

Figurines, gold and trophies, wealth and fame, are all “idols” of sorts that people worship or put faith in, or hope to be successful with.  But all of these are inanimate objects or things that cannot do a thing to respond to us when we cry out for help, when we lift up our voices in praise, or when we fall before in honor.  So why do we worship them?

God is real.  He speaks, he hears, he smells (our prayers and faith are a sweet aroma to him), he feels, he walks (in fact, he runs when he see us turn toward him), he roars, he shapes, he forms…

The saddest part of this passage is that those who worship these idols become like them – unable to hear, speak, smell, etc – in other words – their senses become dull and they become lethargic and unheard by the end of their days – with nothing to leave to anyone behind them.

But the converse is true – that when we worship the living, breathing, loving God we become like him – full of life forever.

What and in whom are you placing your trust? 

His Ears

II Samuel 2:27 starts off our next group of devos on ears:

In my distress I called upon the Lord, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.

What a verse to start out with!

When we are in distress and call upon our God, when we cry out, he hears.

Haven’t you ever yelled at your kids (or your spouse) and accused them of not listening?  I have.  They hear but they don’t listen, because they’re preoccupied, tune us out, or just aren’t interested in what we have to say.  And that sort of response is not validating one bit.

However, we are going to start off with a truth – that God hears our pleas for help.  And when He hears he goes to work at responding in His way, in His time – not ours.

That’s the rub, the rub we don’t like.

However, God doesn’t answer us like man does – with whatever we want to hear, or give us an answer but then no action, or give us the wrong answer altogether – he answers and solves our problems.

Isn’t that what we want?

God hears.  His ears are never deaf.  And his heart is always connected to what he hears.

Every Tear

I’m concluding my set of devotions on the eyes with this verve from Revelation

"…for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

I cry when I’m lonely, when I’m disappointed, etc.  Crying releases tension, but that’s about all it does.  It doesn’t heal.

However, there’s coming a day when those tears won’t be necessary or even evoked any more, because all sorrow will be non-existent. 

Can you imagine that?  Nothing will make us cry tears of sadness, because our hearts, minds, and souls will be completely full in the presence of God in our new state of being.

What will that look like, to have God wipe away our tears?  Will his hands be soft and gentle, will they smell of the flowers he’s been tending, will they hold us when he’s through wiping our tears?

Yes, to all of the above.  

His hands will lead us, hold us, bless us, and guide us to sit with him forever…never to cry again over spilled milk…or anything else that’s gone wrong.