Love. Listen. Act.

"Listen."
Brynn F.

Noah was still and listened.

He listened to every detailed command of God and, without question, did exactly what was asked of him. Why isn’t it that easy for us to listen to God? Maybe because he doesn’t speak to us in a loud booming voice, but also maybe it’s because we don’t know how to listen.

God can speak to us through people, music, scripture, and in so many other ways. You just have to be willing to listen. The lyrics of a song may be the exact words you’ve needed to hear, a certain scripture read in church could answer a question that’s been on your mind, or a friendly gesture from a neighbor can come at just the right time. These little things are Gods way of speaking to us, but we might not notice it because to do that we have to focus our mind on that one thing. Overall, listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. We must be willing to shut out the chaos around us and, like Noah, be still.

For me, a time where I felt I could really hear God was on a trip called Search. At my school, during your junior year, you are allowed to make Search. It’s a weekend spent specifically on strengthening your relationship with God. I wasn’t very confident that this one weekend of motivational talks and constant hand-holding was going to bring me closer to God. I was wrong; it was much more than that. I first felt the presence of God through the kindness and openness of all the leaders, but I had not yet heard him. At the end of our second day we were given time to go sit wherever we wanted and try to listen to God. It scared me at first; was I actually going to be able to hear Him? and how?

My theology teacher this year said that we can hear God through a certain calm we get. I feel that that explains what happened that night for me. As I sat in a quiet room lit only by candle light surrounded by people I had come to love, I found a sense of calm. I knew at that moment that God was with me and he was telling me that he always would be. In experiencing that, it is much easier to listen to God because I know he’s there.

Now I hear him other places like in my favorite song I Will Come to You by Hanson. In the song it says: when you have no light to guide you and no one to walk beside you I will come to you. I hear God telling me he’ll be there for me whenever I need him instead of wishing the Hanson brothers actually wanted to come to me.

When you most need Him, God will be there. Listen for Him and he will answer. If you can trust in God and trust that he is there, you can begin to hear.