Trained to Hear

Have you ever heard the illustrative story of a Cherokee Native American walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan with a New York businessman? Suddenly he stopped and said, "Did you hear that cricket?" "You must be kidding" the businessman retorted over the din of the sounds from cars honking and engines running. "No, I am not kidding," said the Native American, "you hear what you train your ears to hear!" How true.

In medical school I learned to differentiate various sounds of the heart, lungs, and bowels using a stethoscope. Only after listening to tapes of these sounds for hours did I no longer just hear a lub-dub of the heart, but rather nuanced tones that warned of illness. A trained ear is a valuable tool in a physician's black bag!

So too our spiritual ears can be a vital tool for living when disciplined and trained. God is speaking, but so often I do not hear Him over the cacophony of life's noise. Or I have not trained my heart to listen.

God speaks to us through His word and by His Spirit. Jesus says,

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27 ESV

Will you join me in leaning our hearts and minds toward the Lord, that we might learn to hear His voice?

Sharing the journey with you,