Reliable
I have struggled over the years with being a good listener. I do believe it’s a skill to be learned, but I also believe some people have a gift of listening. To be a good listener, I have to take the focus off of myself and really “tune in” to what the other person is saying. People usually use two types of communication – verbal and non-verbal. A good listener recognizes that he or she has four listening devices – two ears and two eyes.
When I’m listening to someone, I’m also weighing their words. I’ve learned that there are three sides to most stores – your side, the other person’s side and then the truth. In sharing our story or our view, we tend to embellish and sensationalize just a tick.
The boy Samuel wasn’t a good listener at first, but he learned the skill of listening to the Lord. Check this out…
1 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. 20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. (1 Samuel 3:1,19-21 NLT)
I think listening to the Lord brings reliability to my own journey with the Lord. I want don’t want my journey to be fake or superficial. Samuel grew up serving under Eli, who was passive to the corruption of his kids. There was no self-discipline with the priests. There was no discipline from Dad, but there was about to be discipline from the Lord. I believe that the Lord was using this time to grow Samuel internally and externally in the eyes of the people to give authenticity to Samuel’s leadership. Samuel was a good listener before he became a great leader.
I want to listen carefully to the Word of God in order to be a reliable follower of The Lord. I want my journey with Him to be consistent and steady. I’m probably considered a “grown-up” by most everyone on the planet, but I want to be known as a child of the king. I want to be a reliable follower and listener of God.
Pressing On!
Dwayne