The Listening Servant

As I was thinking what I should write about this week, the Lord led me to turn the page in my Mom's devotional book and the title was "Your Servant Is Listening". I thought to myself, Yeah, but where could I go with that for a post? Everyone knows that we should listen to the Lord.  And then I opened up my Mom's NKJV Bible and it turned to Jeremiah 22:21, which says the following, "I spoke to you in your prosperity, But you said, 'I will not hear.' This has been your manner from your youth". So to make this short, I believe God led me to these references to not only encourage you in your walk, but as a reminder to me personally.

So many times (and especially lately), I feel I know what's best for me. I get so independent in my thinking and I don't want to listen to the Lord. He might want me to go in a direction (or away from the one I'm going), and I'd rather resist His counsel and keep doing what I think is best for me. I think every Christian deals with this at some point in their relationship with the Lord. We think our own decisions will turn out alright or we leave God behind most of the time, forgetting to ask Him for an answer. Or we might ask the Lord, but with our own "clocks" ticking away, demanding immediate answers, we jump ahead instead of waiting on the Lord for His answer. And it certainly doesn't help when we live in a secular world where everything is rushed and if you don't grab the chance now, it'll be too late tomorrow. As humans, we feel the decisions we need to make have to be "today or never"; however, we easily forget that the Lord has perfect timing. His time schedule is never "behind" or "runs fast". Yes, my discussion so far has dealt a lot with waiting on the Lord, rather than listening to Him. But you know, they both go hand in hand.

"The realization of our need to listen to the Lord means we are willing to wait for His answer."

So when does God speak to us? When we submit to Him and say "Lord, okay, You know I really want to do this, but I'm not going to move until I hear from You". And how does God speak to us? He speaks to us through His Word. Like I mentioned earlier, God led me to the Jeremiah reference where He gently reminded me to "not move until He speaks". For example, I'm really looking to buy a handheld gun for protection. Though I really think this is the smart thing to do, I need to wait on the Lord. Whether the decision is as small as this or something bigger like marriage, God wants us to "consult" with Him and wait on Him to provide us with His perfect answer. So, we see that He speaks to us through His Word. He also speaks to us through other people, those who counsel us. People like our pastors, youth leaders, parents, other family members, and Christian friends. Those around us who God is speaking through to advise us. He also speaks to us through His Spirit, our "Conscience". You probably know exactly what I'm talking about. That Voice inside of you that says it's wrong to go and do something you will later regret. And quite frankly, He's right every time. In short, God has many modes of communication that He uses to reach us.

But God gives a warning to people who stray away and listen to the counsel of fools. In Proverbs 1:28-32.....

"Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them."

And then in Proverbs 1:33, God gently tells us what will happen when His children come to Him and listen to His voice. "But whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil."

How intelligent it is to listen to the Lord! He knows what is best for you. He cares for your life. He has created you. And when we take the time to listen to the Creator of the earth, there is nothing that will stop Him from talking to you. When you listen for Him to answer you, nothing in heaven or earth can keep Him away.

Proverbs 1:5: "A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel."

Proverbs 1:7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."


"So when God speaks to you, listen attentively and prepare to submit to whatever He tells you. Obedience pleases your heavenly Father and He desires to bless you for listening well." ~Charles Stanley, life lessons NKJV, pg. 886)


Blessings,
Anna

The Art of Humility

Psalm 147:10............."Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."







Humility has become a lost art. What is it? According to Wikipedia, humility is "...seen as the act of posture of lowering oneself in relation to others, or conversely, having a clear perspective, and therefore respect, for one's place in context." Humility, in short, is putting others before yourself. C.S. Lewis explained in his book, Mere Christianity, that pride--which is the opposite of humility--is "anti-God". In Proverbs 16:18-19, God says that "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty [prideful] spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."

I would like to include a documentary that Dr. Charles Stanley wrote on why God hates human pride:


"The Bible makes it very clear that God hates human pride. James 4:6 states very clearly, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." The same message gets stated in the Scripture no less than three times....

"Why does God hate human pride so much? Because it is the one sin that keeps us from allowing God to use us for His purposes. When we commit ourselves to doing things our way, we are in no position to do things God's way. Pride renders us useless in the kingdom of God. We fall prey to pride when we forget that God does not exist for us, but we exist for Him." 

[Note: Emphasis added in some parts]



Last February, I started a Leadership and Management course through CollegePlus and I learned a great deal from it on what to look for in leadership and qualities to have to be a great leader. As you have probably figured out by now, yes humility was a strong virtue that made a leader likable. Because honestly, who really likes to work for an employer who has a big head?

Mr. Thompson tells his employees of how he worked his fingers to the bone and built up the company over the years. He brags of his advertising skills, communication capabilities, and his technological know-how. His employees get tired of listening of his one-sided conversations. His brother, on the other hand, runs a simple gas station on the corner. He has fewer number of employees, but they work hard to please him. This Mr. Thompson has never bragged of his accomplishments, but has rather given credit to the wonderful people who have made the business what it is today. See the difference in the two men? The first Mr. Thompson may have more workers at his larger business, but is undoubtedly going to have fewer friends than his brother at the smaller store. 
 
The above story is fictional, but the sin of pride is very real. It exists in the heart of those who live in a disillusioned state that THEY did it all on their own.



I think we would all agree that God created us; therefore, He created everything about us. Our physical features and our talents to name a few. Now why does pride live in the lives of even Christians who believe the above statements?

Simply, because we're humans. At some point in our lives, we think that everything we find we can work through, accomplish, amaze others with is all done on our own strength. We forget that the God we cannot see with our naked eyes was our Designer, our Creator. When He made you, He decided if you could sing, be an Olympic athlete, or super good at math! Everything you and I do are all gifts that our God above has bestowed upon us. It's NOT something we should ever boast about.

"I can sing better than Suzie", "Nancy can't sew nothing like I can", "Bill is soo much less talented than I when it comes to playing basketball"....all are thoughts of the devil, making us believe that we have somehow become superior to everyone around us. But just maybe we're overlooking the abilities they were blessed with that we aren't able to perform. Suzie wins the debating award every year. Nancy makes people laugh and feel better about themselves. Bill may not be tall enough for basketball, but he is the track star.


We have nothing without Christ. We cannot save ourselves, we cannot give ourselves life, we cannot choose the talents we will be able to share with others. As Psalm 89:47-48 says: "Remember how short my time is; for what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?"

"Humility a strange thing. The minute you think you've got it, you've lost it."

Let us strive to humble ourselves before God and give Him the credit, the praise that is due Him, and to use the talents He grants us for His glory.

God bless,
Anna