How do we know if we are listening?
It starts when our minds and mouths are quiet.
It is easy for us to be “listening,” but our minds are not there, or we are formulating what we are going to say when we get the opening.
Or we could be preoccupied with what we need to do in an hour or next week. Or we could be thinking about something that we did in the past.
Either way, the greatest gift we can give to others and the highest form of worship we can give to God is to be “present.”
Another way of describing being “present” would be to say that you are in the “moment.”
Matthew 6:34 NLT
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
A lot of what takes us out of being in the moment is “worry.”
The truth is there is nothing we can do about the past and we are not even guaranteed the next breath.
James 4:13-15 NLT
Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
Another thing that takes us out of the moment is discontent. This is thinking that things could and should be better, but at the expense of things outside of you to change to make you happy.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 NLT
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
The truth is things could and should be better.
I can be a better husband to my wife.
I should be a better father to my children.
I could be a better son to my parents.
I could be a better and harder worker for my employer.
I can be a better brother to my siblings.
I could be a more encouraging brother to my brothers and sisters in Christ.
And as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, this should be my focus.
When I make my focus growing more and more like Jesus Christ, everyone wins, but when my focus is on wanting the people and the world around me to change, everyone loses.
Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
When my focus becomes reading God’s Word, examining my life against its truth, and with the Lord’s help, my life changes, this stands as a witness to God’s glory.
When my focus is on the things that I have control over, my thoughts and what I do, and those things are in line with God’s Word, miracles happen, and God is glorified.
If things are going to change, let it begin with me.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Word and Your promise.
I pray for a continued desire to get to know You above all else. I pray that Your Word shapes my thoughts, changes my attitudes, and leads me to compassionate service to those You place in my path.
Lord, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
