Learning to Listen...

I chose the title "Learning to Listen" for this post because it is the process of learning how to listen to and meditate on God's Word that has helped me to gain the insights I want to share with you.

I am familiar with the Bible - having grown up in a pastor's home with parents who not only read the Bible to us, but taught us how to study it, how to memorize it and how to apply it to our lives, has given me a great appreciation for the value of God's Word.

But sometimes familiarity can be a less-than-positive thing. For example, I can read a passage of Scripture that I know well and not take the time to hear what God wants to say to me through it because I may think I already know what it's about.

I've been working on a read-through-the-Bible project, but completely unlike any other. I've done the "Bible In A Year" a couple of times in my life, and this time I wanted to read the whole Bible not for the accomplishment of reading through it, but for what I could learn and glean from it. So I set out to thoughtfully read and study God's Word, recording in a journal what God is saying to me and what I'm learning. And in the process so far (I'm FAR from being done), I'm learning so much more than what I anticipated!

Right now, I'm in Ecclesiastes - which is a difficult book for me, because I'm a very joyful, optimistic person and the author of this book seems to be constantly expressing negative views on life. I don't like being around negative people or hearing negative thoughts, so it's been challenging for me, but I KNOW that God has included truth in this particular book that I need to discover and apply to my life, so I'm disciplining myself to stick with it.

At our recent Ukraine missionary conference, Daryl Porter talked about meditating on God's Word - this is something that I haven't had a lot of teaching on, but I know is important. I've been doing quite a bit of it myself, too, on this journey through the Bible.

I just finished journalling through Ecclesiastes 8 & 9, but the very interesting thing to me was that I had to read and re-read these chapters at least 3 times in order to let the words sink in and to allow God's Holy Spirit to show me the truth He wanted me to discover through it.

Meditating on who God is as I read through these verses again helped me to look at them in a different light, and what I saw was the sovereignty of God. I was able to read the author's thoughts and see how God was revealing Himself even through the parts of life that we are unable to understand.

I heard in a new way an affirmation of God's sovereignty over life and death, and I was reminded again that my responsibility is to seek and follow God, not strive to understand the "why" and "how" of His ways.

To my results-oriented mind, it seems less productive to take a week to study 2 chapters of the Bible - but the words of this book have become even more precious to me as I have taken the time to listen for God's voice instead of my own thoughts, and it no longer matters to me how much time it takes for me to finish. My desire to just sit and meditate on God's Word is growing and I know my life is richer for it.

LIFE-LONG LEARNING

Life-long learning ... I thought of several phrases I could make with these words:
Learning about life is a long process. Life involves learning. A long life is full of learning.

I haven't blogged much lately -- mostly because February has been an uneventful month and I have been a little less enthusiastic about my studies. Could partly be because the spring semester seems longer, but I have also not been the most diligent with my time management.

However, a couple of recent experiences have caused me to look at my situation in a different light, and I want to share with you what I believe God has spoken to my heart.

I have not been diligent in setting aside time daily to just be in the presence of the Lord. My Bible reading and prayer time have been inconsistent. Since He is really my Lord, my life needs to display that, even in the areas known only to God and to me. If I am going to be really honest, this lack of devotional time and communion with God has affected my productivity and my attitude. But when I honestly confessed to Him that I had been allowing other things to take precedence over what I knew was most important, He began to work a change in me, and I noticed a marked improvement in my attitude the following day.

This is not the first time I have had to learn this lesson, and it certainly won't be the last, but each time it changes me a little more and my roots grow a little deeper.

Last Sunday was an exciting day. My landlady wasn't feeling well in the morning, so I thought she would stay home, but she was at church also. Later, at home, when I was waiting for my pizza in the oven to cook, she was sharing with me how the pastor's message had impacted her and it was a really special sharing time for both of us. I realized then that I need to take hold of these moments every time they come because you cannot always plan for them.

This week, I went swimming for the first time, and the following day I had a horribly runny nose. My teacher was adamant that it was because I went outside too quickly after the swimming and although she expressed it in a very kind way, I am not proud of my initial reaction. I didn't want to be told how to do something, and I struggled with it all day, but there was this thought in my mind that perhaps she was right. After talking to my mom, I realized that perhaps the issue was my unwillingness to set aside my own ideas and adjust to a different way of doing things, and not the advice that I was given.

I don't like being told how to do things, how to say things (this happens a lot in class) and although I know I should try and adapt to the culture here, there are still times when I want to do things my way. This is not only detrimental to the process of learning how to live in community and harmony in a different country and culture, but also in my Christian walk. The New Testament makes it very clear that we are no longer in charge of our own lives, but that we now belong to God and we must be willing to die - to lay down our wills, our desires, our pride and self-importance - and allow Him to direct us.

The process of language learning often doesn't go quite the way I want it to, but I have to remember that it is a process, and just like God is patient in the process of changing me to become more like Christ, I have to patiently trust Him to help me accomplish the goal.

Someone once said, "When you stop learning, you stop growing."
May I always remember that God has promised to complete the good work He started in me, and that all He asks of me is to press on every day in faithfulness and obedience to Him.

A TEACHABLE HEART

I was reading Proverbs 4 today for the second time and these are my meditations and the message I believe God wanted me to see:

It seems that the main theme is that godly wisdom will keep you from evil if you seek and embrace that wisdom. One important aspect of wisdom - as expressed in this passage - is a teachable spirit and a willingness to learn.

Verse 13 says: "Hold on to instruction...guard it well, for it is your life."
Verse 20 says: "...Pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words."

Many people today - especially youth - seem to think that they can get wise on their own, and they don't want to be taught or instructed by others. But the older I get, the more I realize that I continually need to have a teachable heart/spirit and be willing to learn, otherwise I will do what Proverbs 3:7 warns against -- become wise in my own eyes.

Learning to have a teachable heart is an important goal for all of us as believers, no matter how old we are, what stage we are at in our lives, or what circumstances are facing us...but for me, especially at this time, it is profound.

I will soon be entering a very different culture than my own, learning a new language and finding my place as part of an existing ministry team -- all these things require that I do not come with my own wisdom, but with an attitude of being willing to learn from others.

Lord, please help me to have a willing and teachable spirit and to accept advice and instruction from others, even when I would like to be able to feel confident in my own understanding. Lord Jesus, in my interactions and relationships with others may I reflect your submission to your Father. Amen.