The value of listening (3)

'The value of listening to God's wisdom is tremendous', I wrote in my previous blog post.

In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is calling and because Jesus is the wisdom of God for us (1 Corinthians 1:30), I feel free to say that it is Jesus beckoning us.

Come and listen to my counsel. I'll share my heart with you and make you wise (Proverbs 1:23).

Jesus wants to share His heart 💗 with us and make us wise. We would be insane to say no to His invitation, wouldn't we?

Of course, from a human point of view, we can go to school, study, and learn all we want... but in a sense we will just gather knowledge and more knowledge. There is nothing wrong with that, but true wisdom is divine in nature.

According to the writings in the book of Proverbs, listening to wisdom (listening to Jesus, to His Word, to the Holy Spirit) has great benefits indeed. I love how that first chapter ends (Proverbs 1:33),

But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.

I just love that and I receive that word in my heart! Listening to all the voices in the world screaming for our attention will make us restless, worried, distressed, and fearful. Listening to Him will give us peace!

The value of listening (1)

Too many chiefs and no Indians. When we were in the USA, I have heard people say that often. I would like to give that saying a twist:  Too many talkers and not enough listeners.

Now, if the world would just be filled with listeners, it would get awfully quiet (well, we might finally hear the birds!). Of course, there is nothing wrong with talking... but we want our words to count, right?

Let's be honest here, there is way too much foolish and obscene talk, way too much lying and manipulating, and there are way too many useless words spoken. Let's make it our goal to speak truth with power!

👉I truly believe that being an influential speaker starts with listening. That is, listening to God's voice, to His words (I am still learning!). And since we are kind of losing the art of listening, I decided to do a blog series on the value of listening.

I will base this series on several verses in the Book of Proverbs and I will be using the New Living Translation (NLT) in case you want to read along. The short posts will surely inspire and encourage you and maybe even ignite a deeper longing to sit at His feet and listen. I hope you will join me. Proverbs 1:5 says:

Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance.

How to stay hopeful and joyful

We live in a weird, wild, wicked, and wonderful world. Although it is not exactly what God had in mind when He created it all and saw that it was good... His eyes are still on this universe, our planet, and all people.

Although God wanted all people to live in peace, prosperity, and a good relationship with Him, they decided they knew better and preferred to do their own thing. And what a mess we made of it all!

I have been there, I have done that, and I am so glad the Lord stopped me in my tracks twenty years ago and set my feet on higher ground. He brought me back to Himself (thank you Jesus) and to His Word and because of that, I know now, it is possible to stay positive in a negative world.

👉Does the Bible have the answers for today, then? Yes, I truly believe so. Every day I feed myself with truths that are the total opposite of what the world wants me to believe and that gives me great joy! Let's look at what the Bibles says about a few of the most common emotions people are dealing with today.

• FEAR - God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging (Psalm 46:1-3)
• ANXIETY - Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:6-7)
• UNCERTAINTY - For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below — there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39)
• HOPELESSNESS - For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope (Romans 15:4)
• LACK OF PEACE - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27)

Well, you get the idea, right? It seems to me that for every negative word in the world there is a positive one in the Bible. But they will do nothing for us if we do not read and meditate and feed ourselves on those words. Do it, do it today!

The Voice of God

Communication is more than uttering words

Based on the workshops we gave in Germany I have written posts about the will of God and the plan of God for our lives. We noticed that the will of God is not so much something we keep asking for, but rather something we should DO! His will is a general instruction for all believers. His plan, however, can be different for each individual because it depends on our personal situations. When we begin to walk and act in His will, the steps of His plan for our lives will be slowly revealed. The next question would be: how do we hear His voice?

When we think about the voice of God, we often think about an audible voice. The truth is, that most people will never hear God speak audibly to them, exceptions to the rule of course. Because we tend to focus on audible communication, we often miss it. Our idea of communication is often very limited! God speaks to us in many ways, but not necessarily through spoken words. In Hebrews 1:1-3 the Bible says that God has spoken to us through His Son, that is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is called the Living Word, He is God's Word, His voice if you like, because He only spoke what the Father had taught Him. One simple way to hear more from God is to read your Bible out loud, especially the words of Jesus. You will hear God's Word loud and clear, through your own voice. In John 10:3-5 Jesus speaks about the Good Shepherd and how the sheep will recognize his voice. In order to hear the voice of the shepherd, we need to know the shepherd. The more we read about Him, the more we study His words, the closer we get to know Him, the easier it will be to hear His voice, even if he doesn't use words. Right before Jesus goes back to be with the Father He explains to His followers what the Holy Spirit will do: He will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). All communication takes place through the Holy Spirit who is living in us and who knows all about God!

But let's go back to our limited view of communication. God speaks to us in many ways, first and most of all through his Word and through the Holy Spirit. But that is not all. The Bible clearly shows that we do not only hear His voice, but we can also read it, see it, sense it. Don't limit the way you listen! Here are just a few ways God can speak to us, through:

• Unctions, the still small voice within, ideas that pop up, strong feelings
• Servants, prophets, teachers, pastors, all other believers, even people that don't know you, but do know the Word
• Dreams and visions, which we see nowadays quite often in the Moslim world
• Miracles, a question or situation we have can be answered through something we see (John 10:25)
• Angels, less common  nowadays, but certainly scriptural (Old and New Testament)
• Music, art, we can experience God's presence or love or comfort
• Nature, God communicates His glory often through nature, creation

The Bible is full of examples of God speaking to His people, we have to learn to listen with more than just our ears. We can hear His voice, but we can also read it, see it, and sense it. Don't limit this! John 6:63 says that Jesus'words are spirit and life. Those are perfect gauges to test if what we experience is really God speaking to us. Spirit: does it reveal God's character? Life: does it build me up, does it bring life? Remember that communication from God never contradicts His written Word!

Personally I find that the most practical way to hear from God is praying in the spirit (in tongues) and asking for a translation. That way God can speak very clearly and directly to us. If you have received that gift you will have to practice using it. 

It might be helpful to think about the following:

1. How do you communicate with others if you cannot use words?
2. Write down how God has communicated with you in the past
3. Use your own words to describe the Holy Spirit's work in your life
4. Ask God to communicate with you and be quiet for a while, just wait. What do you feel, sense, think or remember?