I remember the extreme humiliation in 9th grade of telling a friend who told a friend who told a friend something that I was supposed “not to tell anyone”…and being confronted with the evidence of my breach of silence. In Sabbath School, I was an incessant talker. My teacher was always asking my friends and me to “please, be quiet.” Even in graduate school—once…only once—I was reprimanded for discoursing with my neighbor. Oh, it was important (isn’t it always?!) I needed to make sense of the lecture. But my noise distracted the teacher, and he made no effort to hide his annoyance from me. Or the rest of the class. Embarrassing? Totally!
My father used to tell me that I never listened. No. He used to say it rather loudly. Sometimes I didn’t hear him the first time: I was too busy talking. You might say I’ve learned the hard way about the importance of listening. Of being still. Of giving others the opportunity to pass on information that could be vital to my survival and success…in school, in life.
Probably the most important thing you can do for yourself is to learn to listen. Listen to everyone and everything. Listen hard. Listen with intensity. And with intent to grow. Listening can improve your life in three major aspects. The first might be obvious to us because of our current situation: Listening can help save our lives. If we do nothing else but listen carefully to the health experts and our local, state, and national leaders, and follow through on as much as is humanly possible, we may very well save our lives and those of our loved ones, friends, neighbors, and community members. Now is not the time to close our ears to their advice, thinking we can take care of ourselves. That may be, but we need to consider others too. Listening can save lives.
Which brings me to point number two about listening: Listening can help improve our relationship with others. My first year or so as a teacher was hard in a number of ways—mostly because I was learning so many things at the same time I was trying to teach them. One thing I found out was that if I expected others to listen to me, I had to listen to them. Being a talker by nature and habit, this wasn’t easy. But I soon found listening to be a direct line to solid gold in my students. It was learning to listen that helped me understand people more. And I’ve found that every time I haven’t taken—or made—the time to listen, and I mean really listen, I’ve missed out on something important—for me and for the other person.
The third aspect which improves with listening is our spiritual life. Listening to that “Still Small Voice” brings spiritual strength. Some call it conscience, some call it the Holy Spirit, some call it the Voice of God. That Voice of conscience and courage can’t be heard if we’re not listening for it, or to it. But if we are, we can tune in to God in a way we might never have expected. And our lives are better, happier, and more secure because we have “been still and [known] . . . God.”
The first two aspects of listening are probably not too hard to understand or appreciate. It’s the third I want to talk about a little more specifically. I think it’s the hardest kind of listening to do because we are dealing with something far less tangible than a teacher, a friend, a parent, a co-worker, a spouse, or the president. Listening for, and to, God can be a very difficult thing to do unless we know what to listen for, and how. There is no grade hanging over our head, there is no threat of grounding or losing privileges, there is no potential for physical sickness or loss of life if we don’t listen to God. Only the promise of eternal darkness if we don’t, and eternal Light…and life…if we do. Which, when we understand this, makes listening to God one of the greatest joys and privileges know to humanity.
How do we do this, though? By being still. By giving ourselves the quiet opportunity to hear God’s beautiful voice. By looking around us, seeing all he’s done for us…knowing that He is our God, our Father, our Creator, our Protector. Listen to what the Psalmist says in Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should collapse and the mountains slide into the sea, though the oceans roar and tidal waves wash away the land, though the mountains move and the foundations of the earth shake.
We have tasted the quiet stream that flows through the city of God, that comes from the heavenly Sanctuary, the place where God Himself is.
The Lord lives in that heavenly city, and it will never be destroyed. He will protect us, and even if we die now, we will see each other on that resurrection morning.
When God speaks, nations crumble and the earth itself melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Look at what the Lord has done! It’s amazing what our God can do.
He can stop all wars anywhere in the world. He can stop the flying arrow, break the biggest spear and smash the strongest defenses.
But He wants men everywhere to stop fighting. So He says, “Be still and know that I am God. My name will be exalted among all nations, and once again
I will assume my rightful place as King.”
The Lord our King is with us. The God of Israel is our refuge.
Did you notice what David says? That if we are still, we will know God, in all His glory, in all His power. He will be a safe place for us to go. He will protect us from everlasting evil.
I heard Barbara Walters interview a popular rock star a number of years ago. At the time, he was internationally famous, making millions of dollars. He didn’t seem to have a moment to himself, what with touring and fans, etc. I was amazed, then, when he started telling Ms. Walters that the thing that kept him centered, that kept him from losing his focus was silence, listening for and to God. “If you have a lot of noise in your life,” he said, “How can you listen to God?”
If you have a lot of noise in your life, how can you listen to God? Oh, how true! For me, one of the ways I find God is through music. Shakespeare once said that music can calm the savage beast…and I have found that to be true in my life. Some of the pieces that I turn to—to calm my nerves, to bring my blood pressure down, to clear my mind, to turn down the noise of the world so I can be still and hear what God has to say to me—include Ralph Vaughn Williams’ The Lark Ascending or Maurice Durufle’s Sanctus movement from his Requiem, or any number of other classical pieces. Sometimes, I’ll listen to them over and over, just trying to push everything else out of my mind, and open it up to the peace that comes with listening like that. If you get a chance, search them out and take a listen. See if they don’t bring you some peace of mind and heart. But I thought I’d share a song here that addresses specifically what we’ve been talking about today, and quotes the Psalm I did earlier…Psalm 46. As you listen, open your ears, your eyes, your mind, your heart to the soothing healing power of God’s active presence in your life. Be still and know that He is God.
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