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.

Give me an S

In my Bible Alphabet Blog Series S stands for Silence.

In our loud and noisy world, where everything and everyone is crying out for attention, silence is more precious than silver or gold.

Havoc and destruction in a big bad world closes in on us, sometimes making us feel very small and insignificant and ever so often tired and anxious ... and then suddenly, in the midst of the storm, calmness is standing right there: Jesus Christ. The situation on the Sea of ​​Galilee two thousand years ago fits the scenario of our time:

And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:24-27).

He is the man of the 'great calm' and we can call on Him any time to quiet our minds.

Strangely enough we may yearn for silence, but at the same time be afraid of it. That should not be necessary, because we can learn to enjoy silence. For example by keeping a notebook at hand and writing down the words God will speak. Then silence once again becomes precious time spent in His presence, where there is fullness of joy!. 

Unfortunately, silence no longer comes naturally in our world. We must consciously seek it, chase it and create a special place and time for it. The psalmist writes (Psalm 131: 2):

I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Seek silence this week and listen ...