This past Sunday in Life Group we talked about listening. Listening to God and also to our children. Listening can sometimes be hard. I know that listening to my children is important, but at times I just don’t want to do it. There is only so much Pokemon I want to hear about. lol. My second son Jordan and I have a thing we do now every day in car line while waiting to pickup my oldest son from school. Jordan gets into the front seat and we talk or play the animal guessing game. Honestly, I would rather be quiet during that time. I don’t get many quiet moments in my life with four young kids and I am the type of person that needs my share of quiet. But I have come to realize that this time with Jordan is special. I don’t get a lot of one on one time with him during the day, so this is time I have to take advantage of.

Listening to God can be hard also. Sometimes we don’t want to be quiet and listen to God because we might not like what we hear. Maybe we want to do something and He might tell us “no”. Maybe there is something in our lives we have to change or get rid of. No one wants to hear about those things, but they are necessary. Sometimes I don’t want to listen to God because I have a neat little plan all laid out and simple for my life, and I just know He is going to mess that up. He usually does. If I had my way in things I would only have one kid, lol. God knew better. He always knows what is best for me and I have to trust that whatever crazy journey He might lead me on is for my best. It takes courage to listen and obey, but the benefits far outweigh the price.

How does God speak? He speaks in many ways. Sometimes it’s that still small voice in your head that you know didn’t come from you. Sometimes it’s a comment from a friend, or maybe it’s a word from a source you would not expect to listen to, like a donkey, for example. Sometimes it comes through a series of seeming coincidences that could not have just happened on their own. Lately, He has been doing that for me. He speaks in a variety of ways, be on the lookout for Him to speak at the times you least expect. The more you train yourself to listen the more you will hear Him speak. You have to be willing to obey, whether in large things or small, when you hear him speak and tell you something to do. Listening takes practice, but it’s well worth it. Listening to someone else lets that person know they are important to you. It’s worth more than a thousand words you could ever say.