Recently, I had a conversation with a young friend about her birthday and her faith. Her focus was on temporary happiness and enjoying this life as much as possible. She was hell-bent on having her best birthday yet.
Although I know she is a believer, she is choosing to ignore Scripture and God’s voice to listen to who or whatever makes her happy (Proverbs 3:5-6). I felt pretty sad as I listened to her talk about how much she had planned for her big birthday.
We have all watched our brothers and sisters in the faith slowly drift away from biblical teaching to worldly and temporary happiness (Isaiah 53:6). In recent years, many have walked away due to feel-good, warm and fuzzy politics (Matthew 7:15-20).
When I was much younger, I chose to listen to my heart and the ways of this world and easily drifted away from the faith and God, luckily God found me and called out to me. Although I knew God, I willingly chose to listen to the wrong voices. Thankfully, as I’ve aged, I’ve learned to listen to God’s voice!
Most people don’t know the difference between hearing and listening, but the distinction makes a world of difference in life. Hearing is a passive event, listening is a responsive action to what we hear, and doing what you say.
Listen is defined as, “Give one’s attention to something with thoughtful attention; consideration to.” When I was young, my father sternly taught me the difference between listening and hearing. If I listened to what he said, then I obeyed and did it. Hearing and listening work together, but they are not the same.
Effective listening leads to response and action, or else the consequences of not listening are discipline. The Bible tells us that discipline is good and loving (Hebrews 12:6-11). It wasn’t until I was in my late 30s that I fully appreciated and remembered my father’s discipline and life lessons he gave me as a child. Listening is a spiritual discipline as well.
When I say discipline, I am not referring to punishment, but to training and healthy habits. Many of us have good disciplines when it comes to our physical health, but we have terrible disciplines when it comes to our spiritual lives, so that no weapon of the devil can deceive us.
Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden, and they heard His voice, but they didn’t listen to Him and disobeyed by listening to Satan and doing what they wanted (Genesis 3:8-27).
Their disobedience let sin and death enter God’s perfect creation (Genesis 3:17-20). God’s punishment was banishing Adam and Eve from the garden, but He also gave them garments to cover their nakedness and vulnerability (Genesis 3:21-24).
God promised to forgive and bless His people when we obey Him by listening to His ways instead of our selfish hearts or the ways of the world (Deuteronomy 28:1-68, Matthew 15:19).
That is why one of the most fundamental teachings of the Bible is our hearts are sinful and cannot be trusted (Genesis 6:5, Psalm 51:5, Proverbs 28:26, Ecclesiastes 9:3, Isaiah 1:5-6, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 15:19). Beware of the lies we tell ourselves just to be happy.
It is foolish to listen to our hearts instead of God and the forefathers of the faith. Our hearts and flesh seek immediate happiness instead of God’s eternal holiness that saves us. The lost and this fallen world listen to their hearts and let their flesh control them. I spent six years of my life when I was younger listening to my heart and flesh.
It took my accident for God to humble and teach me to listen to His loving voice instead of my heart and Satan himself. It took God’s discipline to lead me home. Jesus was clear that His sheep know His voice and will not listen to another, but run from it (John 10:27-28).
These days, many believers will listen to anyone who tells them whatever they want to hear as long as it makes them happy (2 Timothy 4:3).
There is a big lie in the church today that God’s plans for His people revolve and their happiness and success. That is a lie from the pits of hell that has led so many believers astray and breaking from God and His will.
I am not saying that our God doesn’t want us to be happy and enjoy life, just that that is not our purpose or focus of life as Christians. Despite what many false teachers believe and deceive God’s people with, God does not always say yes to our prayers or do what we think is best.
Satan always tempts us with what we want or what will MAKE us happy. He did it in the garden with Adam and Eve, and he tried it with Jesus in the wilderness (Genesis 3:1-7, Matthew 4:1-11, James 4:7).
After my accident, I started listening to Satan again and found myself in compromising situations. I learned quickly how to resist Satan and discern between his voice and God’s still small voice that will lift me up one day (1 Kings 18:20-40; 19:12).
This fallen kingdom is full of so many competing voices, so is the church; that is why God’s people must learn to listen UP (Psalm 25:4-5, Matthew 6:10, John 10:3-11, Romans 8:14).
