Ears To Hear: Palms 19:3 “There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.”
by Ken Smith - 04.25.07
Have you ever been listening to someone talk, while paying attention to something else in the room? This weekend, my six-year-old ran into the room, asking my permission to do something. I was distracted with an article I was reading. He spoke several sentences, but I only “heard” the last few words. “Can we, Dad?” I had NO IDEA what he was talking about. The problem in our communication was not his speech, though; it was MY “ears to hear.” (Luke 8:8)
God speaks in communication other than words! He speaks in models, actions, events, etc. His loudest message was Jesus – THE Word. (Heb.1:1,2) Everything Jesus did; said; every movement he made; every miracle; every glance or expression… EVERYTHING He was, communicated The Father. (”He who has seen me, has seen the Father.”) Even now, He communicates in dreams and visions (Acts 2:17) – pictures!
The problem is not in His Communication, but in MY “ears to hear.” “He who is spiritual discerns all things.” (1Cor.2:15) We need spiritual ears, not intellectual prowess to hear God. That is hard on the pride of a society who values education (intellectual activity) like Western Culture does. God’s Spirit is the “Great Leveler” when it comes to “Spiritual Learning.” In 1Cor.1:26, Paul says that God does not call the wise or esteemed people into service, but “calls things that are not as though it were.” (Rom.4:17) A child can receive just as profound communication from the Father as a nuclear physicist can!
This can be a source of jealousy for the intellectual who has invested much in earthly knowledge. Note the scrutiny of the Pharisees (learned theologians) of the apostles: (Acts 4:13 NASU) “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”
Let us repent of our intellectual arrogance. Let us rid our hearts of every ego-driven presumption before God. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord like children, so He might grant us “ears to hear” in this hour of visitation! Tell your soul, “Relax, and just listen.”
