Seek The Lord And Listen Quietly
Mark Twain once said, “When I was 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have him around. When I was 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”
The Lesson: “See what happens when you ‘know it all’ at any stage of life? Farther down the track, you may see clearly how certain personal opinions, held onto too tightly, could be fogging up the view and providing incorrect insight.” – Mark Twain.
We live in a time when there is an extraordinary amount of opinions about everything. It can be tiring to be bombarded with what people say all week.
The older I get, the more I want to quiet all of the loud voices and sit quietly to listen to what God is speaking through his Word (here’s how to be filled with the Spirit of truth). I’ve noticed that the more I read God’s Word, the less interested I am in the world’s opinions or my own.
Take three minutes and read these divine words the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah found in Isaiah chapter 55:
1) “Is anyone thirsty? Come to me and drink” (Isaiah 55:1).
If I hadn’t had any fluids for 48 hours and someone offered me the choice between one million dollars and a bottle of water, the decision would be easy. I’d choose the water.
Thirst is a powerful human urge that will determine how you make decisions.
Being thirsty will compel you to go somewhere to quench your thirst for significance, achievement, or to be needed and known. The Lord’s invitation is to come to him and drink to be deeply satisfied (learn more about how God can provide water for your thirsty soul).
2) “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen and you will find life” (Isaiah 55:3).
James says, “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). I’ve always read that with the understanding that it applies to how I approach interacting with people. Following these instructions will build healthy relationships with others.
However, consider how this can also apply to our approach to God in prayer.
When we pray, what if our goal is to spend twice as much time listening to what the Lord is saying than speaking to him?
3) “I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David” (Isaiah 55:3).
If you’re wondering what you can listen for when you pray to the Lord, reflect on his unfailing love.
How great is his love for you!
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful,” David writes. “Slow to get angry and full of unfailing love” (Psalm 103:8).
Do you picture the Lord being compassionate? Do you know the Lord as slow to get angry and abounding in steadfast love?
4) “Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).
Recently, I officiated a memorial service for one of our long-term Worship Center members. I was reminded that funerals have a way of forcing a topic that we don’t often think about — our own mortality.
Life is short. But it can also seem long.
Today is the day to seek the Lord. Don’t put it off until tomorrow, for tomorrow is not guaranteed.
5) “Let the wicked forsake his way. Let the unrighteous forsake his thoughts” (Isaiah 55:7).
The Lord is compassionate and also holy. Spending time in the presence of a holy God exposes our sins and reveals our shortcomings. God’s Word teaches us to forsake the ways of the wicked and the thoughts of the unrighteous.
And “return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him” (Isaiah 55:7).
6) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord (Isaiah 55:8).
This verse is a fascinating picture. The Lord’s thoughts are way up high. My human thoughts and reasoning are way down low. His Word is the only way for his thoughts and ways to become my thoughts and ways. How?
7) “As the rain and snowfall comes down from heaven, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
God’s Word is sent to us like water is sent to the earth. It is sent with purpose.
8) “My word shall not return empty but accomplish that which I purpose” (Isaiah 55:11).
God’s Word will not bounce off us but pierce our hearts. And accomplish his purpose.
“For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword,” Hebrews says. “Cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12).
9) “You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace” (Isaiah 55:12).
God’s Word, by the work of the Holy Spirit, will reveal the heart’s motives and intentions.
When you humbly respond to it, you will live in his joy and peace!
The Lord loves you. He knows what you need. And he invites you to come to him.
Seek him.
Listen.
And he will send you his Word to accomplish its purpose in you!