Day 3 – Giving God our Ears
In the Scriptures, God’s ear is alert to the poor and oppressed as well as to the righteous. But he can also turn a deaf ear toward people and refuse to listen.
Likewise our ears can be open or closed to God. Isaiah wrote: “The Sovereign LORD . . . wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away” (Isaiah 50:4-5).
In much of the Scripture, the ear stands for the whole process of listening to God’s message, receiving it, understanding it, and responding to it. To “hear” God’s Word means to respond favorably and obediently to it.
In contrast, when the people in the Old Testament were unwilling to respond to the Word of God and rejected it, they did not “hear” what the prophet was preaching.
Ears are suppose to hear. But sometimes people hear only what they want to hear.
Mike High says that when he was growing up, he was watching television in the basement one evening. His dad called down to him, “Mike! Come up for dinner!” Twice Mike ignored his calls. Just as the show ended, his father shouted, “Mike! Get up here now!”
As Mike leaped to the top of the stairs, his dad exclaimed, “Where have you been?” Mike looked at him innocently and said, “I didn’t hear you when you called me the first two times.”
Hearing can be selective.
Paul warned about those who want to hear only “what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Some people are opposed to sound doctrine because it doesn’t suit their own desires.
Our ears not only need to be open to God, but also open to others. “Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13). Be on the look out for what God is saying to you and respond to the needs of others.
When we really listen to what others are saying, we gain insight and understanding “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out” (Proverbs 18:15).
Ears that hear. Upward to God. Outward to others. We give God our ears.
Prayer: “Lord, I give you my ears that I may really listen – hearing, understanding, and responding to you and to others.”
~ Pastor Dave
