Several months ago I was able to help facilitate small groups for a Womens Conference here in GA called Planting Roots. As part of the conference there were some really fun skits, amazing worship, small group time, prayer, and fellowship. Those are the core of any great retreat! But this one skit stood out to me in particular. The lights were dim and then they slowly rose to meet a woman in the middle of the stage wearing GIANT ears! She was walking around the stage chatting with God a million miles a minute, much like we women do when we talk to our very best friend on the phone for the first time in ages, and we finally get a break from the Paw Patrol Marathon taking place in our living rooms. ;) So, she is gabbing away and then she pauses "God did you get that?" then she continues.... a few minutes later "hello, is anyone listening?" .... on she goes ...talk talk talk. Finally she is quiet waiting for an answer long enough to catch a whisper "I think you've got something in your ear, can I take it out for you?". "What" she replies? "Me? No way, I shower every day and I have impeccable hygiene! But if you see something, yeah get it I guess". So the voice grabs her by the ear and pulls out about 6 different items that were clogging her ears "worry, bitterness, anger, pride, sin, and selfishness." Then the woman's giant ears fell off, and her head looked a lot more normal :) she was able to finally have that two way conversation with God she had been desiring and she was a lot lighter than she had been a few moments before.
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| photo borrowed from Grizzly Flats |
So that brings us to the third part of the Being Bold {in love} series; the L- Listen. Do you know research shows that the reason most people get into arguments is because we listen to each other while planning a response, instead of listening to hear. I know that sounds silly, but it is true... we are so busy trying to form quick responses and get our thoughts across that we forget to digest what the other person has said. This problem is only magnified when you add in the lighting speed at which we can text, email, and message now-a-days and that tone and inflection are often lost in written conversations. When did we stop hearing? When did we stop pausing to listen for a response? What do we have lurking in our ears that is keeping us from communicating with God and with each other the way we are called to?
"And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. Mark 4:24" We are all given a measure, a portion, a part of God's bigger plan. We are all handed the guide book, and we are all accountable for how we use what we are given. To be BOLD for Christ the belief is the base for which all the others are built, the offering of yourself up to be used by God is transformation of your heart, but the real action is the ability to clean out our ears & truly listen. We have to be listening to God all the time or we will miss that call when it comes, that sometimes gentle nudge that says "I need you to do this for me". That nudge may look like this, a mom who woke up at 4:30AM today so she would have the time required to blog in obedience to HIM. It may be taking a different route home because there is a lost puppy and a girl praying for that puppy to come home, and you will chance upon it because you went right and not left. It could be the person in the pharmacy who can't afford their 20.00 medicine and God tells you to step in and bless them. Those may seem like little things, but they add up to a life that is pretty BOLD and BEAUTIFUL.
In the same breathe if we aren't listening to God we probably aren't listening well to each other either. Being a good example for Christ means being a good companion and friend to those we do life with. When a disaster strikes people are quick to box up canned goods or donate old clothes, stuffed animals, and blankets. But do you know that there are warehouses of unused items like that sitting in most major disaster locations? We get this "fuzzy warm" feeling like we did something great by handing off our old jackets and blankets to someone "in need" but did we listen to the need? Did we take the time to hear them? "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me'." Matthew 25:40. It is easy to toss in an extra 5.00 to buy a bouquet for someone at work who lost a loved one. It is harder to bake them a meal, and go sit with them and hug them while they cry. Sometimes what is needed most is for us to box ourselves up, and let God work through us to love on others. When you make that Offer, be prepared to Listen for what comes next, be ready to love! Last bit of scripture because I want to make sure you heard it, and then I am off to get my babies ready for school " Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22
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