Posts Tagged: listening to God

“You Need to Laugh More”


The other day, God and I had an interesting conversation.  I often talk to God.  Sometimes, I shut up and let God get a word in edgewise.  Once in a while, I even listen.

“You need to laugh more,” God said.

“You may be right,” I said to God.

“I usually am,” said God.

And I laughed.

. . .

 I laughed again this afternoon.  This was not due to a God conversation, but a wife conversation.  She was trying to get into the car to go to a birthday party, but was having a difficult time.  It is generally considered unsafe to drive an automobile with the door open and one leg outside the car.

So, I bent down very gingerly to help her get entirely into the car.  She laughed and said, “I didn’t realize how much my leg was hurting until I tried to get it in the car.”

“I understand,” I replied.  “My back is hurting so much that I had to be carefully bending down to help you.”

We laughed.

“Old age is such fun,” I continued.  “If I had known how much fun it was, I would have gotten old a lot sooner.”

Who knows?  I may just laugh again before the day is over.

“A TENDER, RESPONSIVE HEART”

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”  (Ezekiel 36:26, New Living Translation)

I listen a lot these days to Christian music on K-Love Radio.  They have an encouraging verse of the day each day.  Today’s verse was Ezekiel 36:26.

As soon as I heard it, I teared up, and said, “O, God, please give me a tender, responsive heart!”

I very rarely feel that I have clearly heard the voice of God.  That is probably because I’m lousy at listening.  I don’t listen well even to my fellow-species members.  I’m really bad when it comes to listening to the Creator of us all.

However, this time God spoke and I heard.

“Your tears show that you already have a tender, responsive heart, my child,” God said.

Then,  really teared up.

Of course, my heart is not always tender and responsive.  I have two hearts, and one of them is a stony, stubborn heart.  I can transition between my two hearts very rapidly.

Maybe I need to pray for one heart, for a united heart.

Or perhaps I need to pray that I will have a tender, responsive heart more consistently.

But how?  How do I cultivate and maintain such a heart?

Well, first I need to recognize that a tender heart is a gift from God.  That is good news!  I don’t have to manufacture a tender heart; I just need to accept it as a gift from the God who Himself has a tender and responsive heart toward me and toward all mankind. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Of course, I do play a part in what kind of heart I have.  The verse after the K-Love verse (vs. 27) talks about Israel’s part in their tender, responsive heart.

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

Walking in God’s statutes and being careful in observing God’s ordinances is the purpose of this new, tender, respective heart.

Yes!

Disobedience and carelessness harden the heart in a hurry.  God’s gift of a new and better heart is irrevocable.  However, I need to do my utmost to maintain this great gift.  As Oswald Chambers entitled his book, “My Utmost for His Highest!”

My utmost careful obedience for God’s highest gift: a tender, responsive heart!

Follow on Feedly