As I conveniently sit and wait in a car service center for the fourth time in a month awaiting the verdict on the status of my brand new tires; I realize two things. First, I would much rather be spending this rainy morning lounging on my couch in sweatpants and second, despite the fact that I am a somewhat educated individual; the men covered in grease will stereotype me into the category of women who don’t listen to what they are desperately trying to say is wrong with my car. I will openly admit that I know very little about cars but I am wise beyond years in the area of commissions. Casting aside my extensive wisdom on the list of maintenance “recommendations” I know lies within my near future; I am refusing to listen to these skilled mechanics for the simple fact that I have been here FOUR times for the same problem. It is obvious that I am not pleased with the outcome of my tires but after getting a second opinion for the source of my shaking steering wheel, I gave in (or listened) and came back to pay for the needed services. I am guilty of not fully listening a lot of times (I refuse to add this experience to my list because this was more of a refusal to re-pay for a service than stubbornness) in my life. My dad hasn’t quite discovered the benefits of a GPS (and trust me he desperately needs to) so when I am driving to a place he has already been; he gives me very detailed directions. I have told him that my GPS will get me there on many occasions but he insists on giving me landmarks and roads I have never heard of anyway. Although I am not outwardly rebelling against the directions my dad is giving me; I am failing to listen to him. Another time I am guilty of ignoring instructions is when I am on an airplane and the flight attendant is going over the safety precautions. (I think the travel magazine beside me and the smell of brake fluid and rubber are prompting my brain to use transportation examples) I rely on the fact that I have heard them all before and know to put on my oxygen mask before helping others and if the plane I am on erupts in flames (take note that I pray before every flight); I will follow the panicked crowd of other passengers to the emergency exit. And besides finding a comfortable sleeping position and claiming the armrest are way more important than watching the demonstration of fastening a seatbelt.
My very desire to be sharing my brain (I’ve already apologized but I have read my babbles, so I will apologize again) with you is a direct result of listening to God. Sometimes it takes me a few times but I always listen. (Recently, God sent me 3 prophecies from 3 different people regarding the same thing just to make sure I was listening to what He was telling me) But how many times have I only half-way listened to God? How many times have we all heard a sermon similar to one we heard in the past and let our mind wander to grocery lists, lunch options, or our staff meeting the following day, convinced we knew where our pastor was going with his message? Or how many times have we had an opportunity to share Christ with others and let pride or fear stop us? Why do we as Christians read the bible and believe the words contained within the pages but only listen and apply half of the directions set forth by God? Why have we all sat in our pew at church feeling the Holy Spirit tug at our hearts but refuse to walk to the alter for prayer, to worship, or to surrender because we were afraid of what the rest of our congregation would think? Why do we watch people in our lives consume their days with sin, knowing that a day of judgment awaits them and say nothing to them? We may not consider these behaviors a way of not listening to God but they are friends. A more concrete example of not listening to God is evident in one of my attempts to barter with Him. One time I was praying to God for direction and guidance and when I was done praying; I started eating peanut butter M&M’s. As I was eating one of my favorite candies, I said, “God if I am not supposed to change my life let the next M&M I pull out of this bag be blue.” I know it sounds crazy but I was desperate for an answer (even though He had already spoken to me during my prayer). So I pulled out an M&M and of course it wasn’t blue. I needed to change and I knew it. But my desire to only half way listen to God led to me eating half a bag of M&M’s in pursuit of a blue one; in pursuit of a different answer.
Whether we are trying to ignore the Holy Spirit by putting our need to change into the probability of pulling out a specific color of M&M’s or allowing our pride and fear to come before the directions, instructions, and commands of God; we are failing to fully listen to Him. God doesn’t expect perfection and He is willing to send us reminders when needed but He does deserve our full attention every day. When God speaks don’t allow the foundation of your life to fall apart because you became content on your own knowledge and confident in your ability to understand repeated instructions. If you do, you will find yourself in God’s service station in need of a repair. And instead of allowing our mechanic to fix you; you will be persistent in the fact that you already paid for the services you desperately need and as a result you will leave with a shaking heart and an unbalanced life. I can promise you that a malalignment in God is much worse than a shaking front tire which still remains unfixed after the fifth attempt for correction.
Verse to remember: 1 kings 8:61 But your hearts must be fully commited to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands at this time.
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