Learning to Listen with our Heart

Day 5
Some days I allow myself to worry over making sound decisions that are aligned with God’s will. And, I often wonder in frustration, how am I supposed to know these things? I don’t think God ever intended for it to be this complicated or for me to worry about it. He provides the instructions. Proverbs 18:15 says “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.”

Solomon tells us that if we listen with our heart and our ears that we can have the wisdom and knowledge we need. As I looked at this verse, I looked for what it did not say to do. It doesn’t say to talk about it but to just listen – He said the ‘ears’ of the wise, not the ‘mouth’. And the biggie for me – He didn’t say to analyze it out or to rationalize with my own limited mental abilities. Before I knew the Lord, I used to think of myself as an intellectual. I giggle to myself now just thinking about it. The scripture tells us that the ‘heart’ will seek knowledge. The most foolish mistakes that I’ve ever made were when I have ignored my heart, or as we sometimes say instincts which is the Holy Spirit, and relied upon my own rationalization and reasoning to justify doing what I wanted to do. I take great comfort in knowing that the Lord speaks to me through my quiet moments with Him, when I’m listening with my heart and not trying to debate Him with my own very limited understanding. He sees all things from the mountain top while my vision is as limited as a grasshopper in tall grass.

Our country is facing difficult times and I see people dashing around, grasping for any possible answer to their problems. Today it’s clear that this is the time to slow down, listen to God with an open heart and listening ears. He will guide us through the maze of confusion in these uncertain times. Shhhh. He may be speaking to you right now.