Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
April 4, 2023
Romans 10:16-21
16 But everyone hasn’t obeyed the good news. As Isaiah says, Lord, who has had faith in our message? 17 So, faith comes from listening, but it’s listening by means of Christ’s message. 18 But I ask you, didn’t they hear it? Definitely! Their voice has gone out into the entire earth, and their message has gone out to the corners of the inhabited world. 19 But I ask you again, didn’t Israel understand? First, Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who aren’t a people, of a people without understanding. 20 And Isaiah even dares to say, I was found by those who didn’t look for me; I revealed myself to those who didn’t ask for me. 21 But he says about Israel, All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.
Good Morning, Rejoice for the Lord blesses all who hear!
Did you hear that? How many times do sounds come into our ears per day? Our brains are marvelous and can receive and process so many messages in the blink of an eye. We see, hear, smell, touch, and taste; our brain processes the stimulus. I would guess that our brain processes thousands of these stimuli daily, and we are somewhat unaware of most of them.
Do you remember playing the game where you look at a tray with objects for a few seconds, and then you have to list what you saw? In that case, you are very focused because you know why you are looking at this tray. It is a much more challenging task when we are unexpectedly asked to recall the details of something we witness. We were there and saw it, but we were not consciously paying attention with a specific purpose to see detail. It feels like it was all a blur.
When we consider what we hear, it's a whole new level of consternation. Just like images constantly bombard our eyes, our ears receive constant stimuli. When I don’t want to see, I can close or cover my eyes, but our ears have no off button, and sounds seem to seep around whatever we use to block the sounds. When I’m sitting in a quiet place, I still hear the sounds of nature or the sounds of the ventilation system. When I’m in a noisy environment, the sounds mush together into an unwelcome lair of chaos.
One of my nephews lost his hearing at a very young age due to an illness. I remember when he was eligible for a cochlear implant that would restore a small portion of his hearing, and he would turn it off because he needed to escape the noise. As a musician, I love sounds and often immerse myself in the music I make and the music of the earth that surrounds me, but I am admittedly sound-triggered.
I don’t know when this began, but those tedious, repetitive noises like those that come from beepers, devices, and apps make me anxious and affect my ability to function normally. I have determined that the sounds of natural things do not affect me this way. I enjoy spending time around a group of students with multiple conversations happening all at once or preparing for a musical performance with a group of musicians practicing their own parts.
When I stop and consider the question in this passage, 18 But I ask you, didn’t they hear it? Definitely! Oh yes, we hear many things, but do we take time to consciously discern what we are hearing? How many times do we ask a question and forget to listen for the answer? We walk away thinking, “What did they say?” or sometimes we don’t even realize until much later that we don’t have the answer to a question that was asked and answered. We remember the process, but we don’t have the answer.
So did God’s children, do we, hear it? Definitely! Did they, or did we listen and discern? Unlikely! I am reminded of Elijah, crying out to God from the cave. The voice of God wasn’t in the fire, the great wind, or the earthquake; the voice of God was still and small. Like Elijah, we have doubts, struggle, and look (this is not a typo) for the voice of God amid our chaos. Do we look for God’s voice, or do we listen for God’s voice?
Could it be that we are using the wrong tool to hear God speaking? You wouldn’t use a rake to dig a hole. We must purposely listen to discern the message. Perhaps we don’t hear the message when we are distracted by the images. To hear the voice of God clearly, we need to block out our other distractions. Maybe that is why so many of God’s revelations come in the darkness of the night when there are fewer distractions or stimuli to which our brains must respond.
20 And Isaiah even dares to say, I was found by those who didn’t look for me; I revealed myself to those who didn’t ask for me. 21 But he says about Israel, All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.
Are we ready to listen to the voice of God and discern the message, or do we continue to be a disobedient and contrary people?
Blessed God, We thank you for Your blessings. You gave ears to hear, but the words are often lost in the chaos. Help us choose to hear you! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: When I turn my heart toward God, I can better hear God’s voice.
Listen and be blessed! Pastor Liz
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