Category: Old Testament

Perpetual Listener

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali ~ 1 Comment

Psalm 81: 8, 10-14

“Hear, O my people, and I will warn you – if you would but listen to me, O Israel!… I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!”

When you want to have a conversation with a friend or a loved one and decide to ring them, you would expect to know how they are and if anything, exciting has happened in their lives. You patiently listen to them: laughing if something funny occurred, grieve with them if something tragic occurred, encourage them if they are down and so on. When it is your turn to share, there is nothing wrong in expecting that they also would listen with the same eagerness about your welfare and sensational news that you might share. However, if the other person is not interested in your affairs, he/she might bid you good-bye. In several instances, you might find yourself becoming a perpetual listener as the person on the other end of the line is rambling on about their own affairs. You would feel disappointed that you weren’t heard. Now if such a thing seems to occur more frequently, you tend to conclude that the person on the other end just wants to be listened to! You might even avoid such people because you are growing tired of their stories and you are not given a chance to be heard.

There are instances that you are sharing something important but you are cut off because it is not as interesting as their topic, resulting in disappointment. You realize that you are not as important as you thought you were in that person’s life. Their affairs, their news, their troubles are of utmost importance and yours are least. In the third instance, there are people who pretend to listen to you but are not paying attention to what you are saying. You feel like you are talking to a wall. In all these instances, you are not heard! Suddenly, you feel so lonely and disappointed that you begin to wonder that if you matter at all to anyone. None to talk with and none interested in you can drive you to heartache.

I envisioned God in the same position – perpetual listener. He calls us and we answer. However, instead of listening to Him, we are rambling off about our problems, our sicknesses and dilemmas. God, in the kindness of His heart, listens to us. He then waits for us to stop talking so He could speak to us: give us the comfort that we are seeking, strengthen us when we are weak, encourage us when we are lowly and heal us when we are sick. He wishes to reveal His Word to us, hidden nuggets of wisdom from His truth. But we just don’t listen to what He has to say! We are too enamored about what is going on in our lives that we don’t have time to sit and listen intently to Him. As I came upon this scripture, I realized how many times I have rambled on and failed to listen to God. He is so eager to talk to us if only we would listen. In just five verses, the phrase, ‘listen to me’ has been quoted thrice. If only we listen, God has solutions to all our problems. When I as a human can get disappointed when I am not heard, how much more can God get disheartened when His people, whom He redeemed by paying a huge price, are not listening?

In Bethany, when Jesus visited Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Mary sat at His feet and listened. Martha complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping her. However, Jesus replied Martha saying that Mary chose the most important thing and that will not be taken away from her.

Psalm 81 closes this way:

15. “Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.

16. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

We must learn to listen to Jesus. We must practice listening to the sweet, still voice of Jesus when He speaks. We might not find solutions to our problems, and we certainly won’t have victory in our lives when we don’t listen to Jesus. God promised that our enemies’ imminent punishment would last forever and conversely, we would enjoy His best, if only we listen! Let us reform ourselves from ramblers to perpetual listeners.

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Bid Me Come

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Matthew 14: 25-31

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Many of us, as believers of Lord Jesus Christ, have a deep desire to do something for the Lord’s Kingdom. Whether it is evangelism, charity or some other noble ministry to help God’s children in our neighborhoods, our communities or people across the world. However, many of us struggle with the question, ‘Am I equipped enough?’ In our desire for being part of the Lord’s Kingdom, we ask the Lord to bless us with special gifts. God, in His great love, grants us one or multiple special gifts. He equips us for whatever mission He wants to use us for furthering the Gospel of truth. He even opens the right doors for us to enter, so the ministry that He called us to would be effective and bring glory to His name. He closes all other doors, prevents us from going to certain people or places. He even gives us the right words to speak and the right tools to use.

Peter was one of those disciples who was impulsive, eager and on fire for Jesus. All the disciples in the boat were petrified when they saw a ghost like figure walking towards them on water. When they learned that it was Jesus, Peter was the only one who mustered up the courage to ask Jesus to command him to come to Him. When Jesus asked him to come, Peter was bold enough to step out in faith and walked towards Jesus. He was able to walk a little distance before he got distracted by the billowing waves and howling winds. The moment he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked around, he began to sink. However, Jesus reached out, stretched forth His hand and rescued Peter.

When as believers of Jesus Christ, as disciples on fire for Jesus, we step out in faith, keeping our eyes on Jesus. However, the cares of this world, the distractions around us cause us to take our eyes off of Jesus. Sometimes, the initial success of the work could cause us to be proud. Sometimes, we do beyond what we are supposed to do, relying on our own strength. We fail to recognize that we need our Lord’s strength and not bank on ours which is weak and failing. Sometimes our desires get in the way of God’s plans. Sometimes, we get distracted by the applause we receive. Sometimes we get carried away by the worldly standards and fail to recognize that we are special and chosen by God. Our lives may not be typical of the world’s standards. We fail to recognize that we are set apart for His work.

That is when we sink. We sink into a cesspool of self-pity and failure. We cannot seem to understand why all our best efforts are not producing the results. We fail to recognize that we got distracted. We fail to recognize that our focus has shifted from Jesus to the world. We fail to recognize whose mission it was in the first place. We fail to recognize our utmost priority. Like Peter, let us cry out to Jesus to save us. Let us reach out to grab onto His outstretched arm. He will safely carry us through stormy waters.

Dear Saint of God, don’t get disheartened by the failure. Don’t get disappointed when the right opportunity doesn’t open up. We may be distracted but we need to refocus on Jesus. We must ask Jesus to bid us come to Him. We must remember on whose business we are about. It’s not ours but His. He will accomplish His purposes the best way He chooses. We must just remain with Him, and in Him. For His strong arm is always there to rescue us when we are failing, when we are sinking, and when we are distracted. He will ensure that the fire He lit in us will keep on burning, shining brightly His light in us for the world to see.

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