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A few weeks ago, the memory verse for our church discipleship groups was Psalm 82:13. I’ve written it out for you in the Wednesday in the Word section below. The three of us in our group imagined how an animated Jewish mother would say to her stubborn, wayward children, “You never listen to me!”
Listen: a verb — To make an effort to hear something.; To pay attention; heed; To give close attention with the purpose of hearing; to give ear; to hearken; to attend.
Seriously, we are easily distracted and don’t listen very well most of the time — to our spouses, to our children, to our pastor… but mostly, we don’t listen well to our Savior who loves us most and who knows our name… where we are… what we are struggling with.
I wrote about this not too long ago in the following blog. It will appear in my upcoming book, Unseen People.
I know His voice. He knows my name
Can you think of a time when you were stressed, in need of calm assurance, and just at the right moment, someone you love spoke your name? In that moment, even in the chaos, you knew all would be well. I’m reminded back to the days not long after Johnny and I married when we were seminary students in Ft. Worth. (Yes, that was a few minutes ago). He was supposed to be on a retreat with men from our church for the weekend. I was sleeping soundly late one night in our apartment while he was gone. When all at once, I was startled awake. I heard the sound of our apartment door opening. We lived in a cheap building in a sketchy part of Fort Worth. A couple of flimsy locks on the door were not going to keep intruders out for long. But before I could even barely open my eyes and be scared, I heard my name. “DeAnna, it’s me. It’s ok. I just decided to come home early.” And all was well. It was the voice of my beloved.
There is power and peace in hearing your name spoken by someone you know and love.
Even sheep know this:
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
John 10:3-5 NIV
Sheep aren’t known to be the most intelligent creatures God made. But they know the voice of their shepherd. They know when they are safe.
There are plenty of examples in scripture of Jesus speaking someone’s name.
“Lazarus, come out!” John 11:43
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today!” Luke 19:5
And many, many more examples throughout the Bible.
One of my favorites is this one:
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
John 20:16
Can you even imagine? Mary was distraught. She didn’t know where they had taken him. And then, when a man who she thought was the gardener, simply said one word. The only word she needed to hear to bring her back into a safe place. Her name. Jesus said to her, “Mary.” And she knew. She was flooded with peace. She didn’t know what was happening, but she knew him. And he knew her name. That was enough.
You can know that in your crazy, chaotic world today, He is there with you. This you can know: He knows your name. You know his voice. Listen for it. And that is enough.
When have you heard your name spoken and it brought you peace?
A Good Book: Walking With God: How to Hear His Voice, John Eldredge
“If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that he speaks to us largely through what happens to us, so what I have done in this book . . . is to listen back over what has happened to me—as I hope my readers may be moved to listen back over what has happened to them—for the sound, above all else of his voice.”
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I hope your break includes some time to just stop. And listen. I love listening to the songs of different birds singing in my backyard. Yes, I am a certifiable bird nerd. cardinals are my favorite.
But also, take time to listen to what God is saying to you today. And then sing a new song back to God… to our God who listens. This framed art sits on my desk. It’s a gift from my Discipleship Group daughters — Katie and Emily. Thank you!
And right outside my office window is a bird feeder my husband fixed for me so I can watch the birds feed and listen to their songs. (I also have two more feeders in the lower part of the yard and two hummingbird feeders by the deck. Bird nerd.)
What song do you like to sing to our God who listens? I’d love to know.
Totally agree with all of this! I’m a fan of nonverbal communication. When you are physically present to read facial cues, and hear inflection in voices and see all other body language, it’s listening with all the senses. Thanks for sharing!
😊💛 Thanks, DeAnnafriendsortofaunt. I'll think on this. I am a natural listener, so this Good Word is extra good for me to read today. Larry and I were talking about how texting is such a rotten form of communication, because you can't hear the tone or vocal inflections. So a person winds up inserting their own tone or vocal inflection based on their current emotion or feeling. Listening is so important. Listening and *looking*. Words aren't even necessary so much of the time. Many times you can just look at a person when they're trying to tell you something, and even if they can't say it, you know at least some of the response you can give because you're listening and looking to their tone, inflection, facial expression, and body language.
Looking is a "whole nother" way of listening.
Well, that was a ramble. PS I'm a fellow bird nerd, too. I am impatiently waiting for the hummingbirds and also our nesting pair of painted buntings to hopefully come back.
Totally agree with all of this! I’m a fan of nonverbal communication. When you are physically present to read facial cues, and hear inflection in voices and see all other body language, it’s listening with all the senses. Thanks for sharing!
😊💛 Thanks, DeAnnafriendsortofaunt. I'll think on this. I am a natural listener, so this Good Word is extra good for me to read today. Larry and I were talking about how texting is such a rotten form of communication, because you can't hear the tone or vocal inflections. So a person winds up inserting their own tone or vocal inflection based on their current emotion or feeling. Listening is so important. Listening and *looking*. Words aren't even necessary so much of the time. Many times you can just look at a person when they're trying to tell you something, and even if they can't say it, you know at least some of the response you can give because you're listening and looking to their tone, inflection, facial expression, and body language.
Looking is a "whole nother" way of listening.
Well, that was a ramble. PS I'm a fellow bird nerd, too. I am impatiently waiting for the hummingbirds and also our nesting pair of painted buntings to hopefully come back.