Focus on the Listening

This morning during praise and worship, I noticed something very small and insignificant to the overall flow of the service, but it spoke volumes to me.  Our church worship team has phenomenal talent and they are Holy Spirit-led, not performance motivated.  Worship time can sometimes be loud, because these folks, and the congregation, are not shy about declaring praise.  If the volume bothers you, earplugs are available at the Welcome Desk!

As the instruments played this morning and the congregation was singing, a young man who serves in the church in a number of ways came to stand in the front of the church as he worshipped, as many people do.  After a moment or two, the pastor stepped over to him and began to talk to him.  In order to hear the directions he was being given, he had to lean his head closer to the pastor's ear, block out any concentration on the lyrics and music that surrounded him, and focus only on one thing.

This is not a rare occurrence.  Many times during the course of a service, a pastor or leader will need a message taken to someone or an item brought to him.  I've probably seen this type of exchange a hundred times, but today it spoke to me.

We live in a world where we are bombarded with sound.  Almost everywhere we go there is something being played through a loudspeaker. If it's not being played for us, we turn on music in the car, the television in the living room, music and videos on our cellphones.  The messages come at us constantly and quickly.  We are always processing what we hear, accepting some thoughts and rejecting others.  In the middle of all that audible and mental racket, it is sometimes difficult to focus on the one voice we desperately need to hear - the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The young man listening to the pastor this morning did a couple things in the natural that we can do in the spiritual to better hear our directions in this life.  He tilted his head toward the speaker. He got as close as he could in order to make sure he didn't miss a word.  Proximity to God is the way to know what He is trying to say to us.

I also noticed that he wasn't trying to talk or continue singing with the praise team as he listened.  He quieted his own mind and his own mouth so he could focus on what was being asked of him.  How often do we come to God for direction and end up telling Him what we think should happen?  We need to be still to give His voice priority.

Our family is entering a very challenging month.  There will be tests of our physical bodies, our emotional states, and our spiritual strength.  I will remind myself this month when circumstances are not ideal, that I need to lean into the very heart of God for direction and support and to quiet the thoughts of my own heart so I can focus on where He is leading.

Proverbs 4:20
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings....