By Pastor Dave
Many years ago, the Lord spoke to Jennie and said this to her, “Close enough to hear, but too far away to listen”.
At that time, we had four children in the house and there was constant talking, singing or some type of noise. Then, when one of them wanted Jennie’s attention, they would call out for Mommy. However, because of constant noise Jennie would hear the child but not listen to them. She would have to train herself to respond to the voice calling out to her.
Isn’t that the way it is with Jesus? He is constantly calling out to us, and we hear the voice, but we are too caught up in other things so we do not listen. John 10:27 (NASB) “My sheep know My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:3-4 (NASB) “To him the door keeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth his own, he goes out ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ” Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is constantly calling out to His sheep. As a believer, you are His sheep.
Are you listening or is God’s voice a background noise? We are all bombarded by many things calling out to us. Noise everywhere, voices, TV, phones, cell phone, radio, job, friends and other things. All calling for our attention. So, what do most of us do? We learn to ignore most of the noise. Through it all, Jesus is calling out to you. The problem for us is that we often, or all most always, listen to the loudest voice. Jesus is not the shouting type. He wants you to learn to hear His voice and then listen to it. We see in 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NASB) “So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. and after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said…. “ What is amazing about this is that we often listen for the loudest voice and God is often the quietest voice. We have to learn to listen to the voice of God by tuning in to His voice.
Are you close enough to hear but too far away to listen?