He who has ears to hear, let him hear
Hearing occurs when sound is funneled through the external ear and piped into the auditory canal. When the sound waves reach the eardrum, they cause it to vibrate. These vibrations travel to the middle ear triggering three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) to vibrate, causing the “oval window” to vibrate while tiny hair cells translate the vibrations into electrical impulses that then travel to the brain via sensory nerves. Whew! That’s what it takes to hear, but what does it take to listen?
Both the Old and New Testament Scriptures are filled with warnings about hearing without listening. Hearing, save for disease or old age, is pretty much automatic. We can dull our hearing by abuse but also increase our hearing with practice. With effort we can tune into frequencies that are lost in the cacophony of everyday noise. Most of us have experienced sitting quietly in the woods and being amazed at how many different sounds are present that we would normally miss.
Hearing is the front end to a more complex process called listening. As parents we know too well that at times our kids are hearing us but not listening. Feeling ignored we shout, “Are you listening to me?!” We want more than hearing, we want attention, comprehension, and understanding … even action.
Through the prophet Jeremiah we can sense God’s frustration as He addresses His children, ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear” (Jer. 5:21).
Scripture constantly appeals for us to tune in with our spiritual hearing. Jesus said, “… blessed are those who hear (listen to) the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28). As new creations in Christ we are blessed with a spiritual hearing capability that can be either developed or ignored.
In the familiar passage where Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd He says, “… the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:3-4).
Here in lies the critical question of discipleship. Out of the myriads of voices calling out for our attention, do we discern His voice? I have no question that God can shout, but He rarely does. It seems He is more likely to whisper. For example, Elijah is worn out and discouraged following his skirmish with the prophets of Baal. After some rest and food, he seeks to hear from God. The text tells us that there was a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire but no voice from God. After all the loud noise there came a “gentile blowing” and that is when Elijah heard God speak. Perhaps a reason for this is that God’s desire is not to force us to hear but rather that we would choose to hear and intentionally tune into His frequency.
In the 70s the CB (Citizen Band) radio became a traveling craze. Truckers had used them for years but ordinary travelers began to horn in on their territory. In its heydays the CB radio developed its own movie genre and cultural lingo: “10-4 good buddy”, “catch you on the flip flop”, and “spy in the sky”.
The CB radio normally had a line of sight range of 3-20 miles and 40 channels/frequencies to pick from. This bi-directional personal communication system, allowed for only one person to talk at a time. In order for two (or more) travelers to use their CB radios to communicate, they had to be close enough, tuned into the same frequency, and take turns speaking. When caravanning on a trip we would establish an agreed upon channel and our personal call signs: “Luck Duck this is Red Rider, how do you read me? Over”. The “over” was important since it gave the other person the chance to speak.
How often do we say “Over” when we communicate with God? Do we let Him speak? Do we know His channel … His frequency? Along our journey we can spend our time listening to the banter on the trucker’s channel (usually #19), roam the other channels listening to fellow travelers, or we can tune into where He is speaking. He rarely competes. A disciple will set up an agreed upon primary channel so he can communicate with God with a frequent “over”.
God speaks primarily through Scripture and the Holy Spirit. His promise to the disciples in the upper room before the crucifixion was to send His Spirit who would guide them into truth (John 16:13).
However, just reading the Bible is not the same as “tuning in” to His frequency. Tuning in requires thoughtful reflection and intentional meditation. Tuning in requires tuning out other frequencies to reduce the static and clutter.
The spiritual habit of a daily appointment with God in the Scripture has been a historically foundational practice of disciples for centuries. It has been my practice for over 50 years ever since I was introduced to a little booklet called “7 Minutes with God”. I started with developing a 7 minute daily habit which has now expanded and modified over the seasons of my life. I know of no other spiritual discipline that is more effective for tuning into the voice of the Shepherd.
Larry, a good friend and fellow disciplemaker of over 50 years in both the marketplace and in churches, recently said to me, “I think I could summarize what I do in mentoring men as simply equipping them to hear and respond to the voice of God.” What a great summation of being a disciplemaker!
That said, it is not always easy to discern whose voice I am hearing: My voice? God’s voice? Voices from my past? Satan’s voice? Listening and discerning is a skill that takes practice and patience. One thing is for certain, God never speaks to us contrary to Scripture. That is why to keep from being deceived, we need to be students of His Word. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately (correctly) handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Even Satan uses Scripture!
An apprentice of Christ is a serious student of the Bible. In Deuteronomy Moses gave this instruction to those who would be kings of Israel. “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests” (Deut. 17:18). The king was to have his own personalized copy written by himself under the mentorship of the priests. Can you imagine how the history of Israel would have been different had this instruction been followed?
When my father died, one of the priceless heirlooms passed down to the family was his Bible. It was a small version that he took with him everywhere. Flexible enough that he would often roll it up as he carried it. But what was amazing is that there were very few pages that were not marked up with his annotations. They didn’t make sense to us, but they did to him. He didn’t write his own copy, but he took a copy and made it his own.
For Reflection:
1. How have you personalized the Scripture and made it your own?
2. What is your process for clarifying the voice of the Good Shepherd from other voices?
10-4, Good Buddy!
Good word!