Just Listen to Me...

“Sit down” I said boldly. “You need to listen right now” I responded quickly as they veered their attentions from anything I was saying. As a teacher this is probably a common sound in classrooms. A couple of years ago I noticed that as I poured my heart and soul into a math lesson about trigonometry, I looked out and almost no one was paying attention. They were off in their own little worlds not thinking or worrying about anything I was saying. I was infuriated and I slammed my textbook on the ground. I said, “how can you not listen to me? I know what you need to know and how you are going to get there! Do you want to try this on your own?” Ashamed, the students faced their puppy dog eyes towards me and we continued to learn about the amazing wonders of math.

Does this sound familiar to your relationship with God? I know it does for me. I can think of countless times when I chose to do my own thing, or try and do something myself when God is crying out, “Jacob! Why aren’t you listening to me? I know what you need to know and how you can get there the easiest! Just listen to me!” But so often the whispers of this world are louder than the shouts of God. It’s amazing that we choose to listen to this empty advice when the one who created us, the one who knows us better than we know ourselves, is giving us a daily plan of what we should do, and how we should do it. We just need to stop and listen. I think so many times when I sit down to pray at night that I end up doing most of the talking. How often do I actually listen to God? How often do I shut my own mouth, sit in his word and listen. How much more could we learn from him?

The first song on the EP, called “Listen”, comes from a time in my life where Jesus was shouting to get my attention. I was stuck in a rut of sin that I knew was wrong, but I chose to listen to the world instead of God’s direction. He reminded me of the power of His word and he brought me back to repentance and forgiveness in him. 1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” We need to know God does not only want us to listen to him, but he also listens to us. He knows our areas of need and therefore gives us his word to provide us with hope and strength through the most difficult of times. God may be calling you back to his word today. He might be trying to get your attention amidst the noise in this world. Are you listening for him?