Time to Listen
How much time do you have in your life? I’m guessing not much. It is a truism that things expand to fit the amount of time we have, we never seem to gain any time. But sometimes in our busy, busy lives, we need to stop, take stock and listen.
This coming Sunday is the one before lent, which starts with Ash Wednesday on 5th March. So this is an opportunity to prepare, to think how we are going to meet God anew in the journey towards Easter, to pause and reflect.
Exodus 24:12-18 (CEV)
Moses on Mount Sinai
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up on the mountain and stay here for a while. I will give you the two flat stones on which I have written the laws that my people must obey.” 13 Moses and Joshua his assistant got ready, then Moses started up the mountain to meet with God.
14 Moses had told the leaders, “Wait here until we come back. Aaron and Hur will be with you, and they can settle any arguments while we are away.”
15 When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, a cloud covered it, 16 and the bright glory of the Lord came down and stayed there. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the Lord told Moses to come into the cloud. 17-18 Moses did so and stayed there forty days and nights. To the people, the Lord’s glory looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain.
God invites Moses to join him on the mountain, in his holy place. But this isn’t for a jolly, a rest or just a special time with God (though undoubtedly it would have been that!), this is for Moses to hear God’s word, not just for himself, but for all the people.
Now, I’m sure God could have given his word to Moses where he was, without bringing him up the mountain, but maybe Moses wouldn’t have heard it in quite the same way. Sometimes it is necessary to draw apart to hear what God is really saying; to intentionally focus on him with no distractions; to be where God is, alone with him.
And so it is with us. Yes we can hear God in the everyday, and actually that is necessary, but sometimes we need to step apart, to specifically put aside some time and space to be with God, to hear what he is saying – not always just for ourselves. Lent is an opportunity to take that time. Whatever we do, or don’t do, during lent, it is an opportunity to set aside purposeful and intentional time with God. If this isn’t the right time for you, and it may not be, then there needs to be a time to set aside, to have the space to listen purposefully to God.
Taking time out to listen to God can be scary – after all who knows what he will say or ask of us? But it is vital for our well-being and our relationship with him. What can I do, to take time out to listen to, and really hear, what God is saying?
Lord,
life is so busy,
so much to do,
often for you…
Yet,
you call to me
to come and stay a while,
to listen to you,
to hear what you are saying.
And so I come
and wait in your presence
and listen
Pam's Perambulation 
the more time I take out to listen to God the more I want to and at the same time the more scared I am of what He might say… and the more sure I am that however hard it is to take on board His will, to deny self-centredness and self-gratification, to walk the way of the cross, it’s vastly better than _not_ doing it His way. I’m reminded of an earlier blog of yours, Pam – “choose this day… God’s way and life, or not…”
I think we’re all scared of what God might say in the silence – that’s why we keep busy 🙂
Thanks for the kick up the backside! Kicks are not always as politely and lovingly given as you managed to deliver this one 🙂
I like what Dorothy says too about however hard it is to do what God says, it’s so much better than NOT doing so. I have found that when I don’t do what He says, God takes me full circle and brings me back to the same issue again and again so that I can ‘practice’ until I do as I’m told.
Oh yes! round and round and round we go… and the deeper we go into God, the harder it is to fight… and the harder I fight, the more it hurts… and as I cry out “let go! you’re hurting me!” it’s as if God says “no, I won’t let go – it’s only your struggles which are hurting you. If I let go, you’ll be damaged and hurt far, far more…” like a parent holding on to a struggling toddler who’s desperate to play with the cars on the motorway…
God disciplines those He loves. And He _so_ loves us… far more than we love ourselves, because if we loved ourselves half as much as God loves us we wouldn’t struggle…
Thanks 🙂
I like your thought about practicing until we say yes. And yes, what God says doesn’t go away, he keeps saying it until we respond positively
And like a loving parent, God keeps telling us what we need to hear until we are able to hear it
I like that – until we are _able_ to hear it. and then beyond – until we are able to accept it, to act upon it…