Matthew 17:5 “This is my son, whom I love… listen to him!”
During the First World War, a government department was recruiting Morse code operators. One young man saw the advert in a paper and went for an interview. He entered the noisy office, took the application form from the receptionist, and began filling it out with several others in the waiting area. A few minutes later, the man opposite him stood up with his form and entered the inner office. The other applicants wondered why he’d gone unprompted, and began complaining that they’d waited longer than him. A few minutes later, the employer came out with that same man and said: “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming but we’ve now made an appointment”. The other applicants complained vociferously: “Wait a minute, that’s not fair. He was the last to come in and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job.” The employer replied: “I’m sorry, but all the time you have been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”
I sometimes envy others who seem more attuned to God’s voice – but I don’t think it’s an accident that they hear him more clearly. They have taken the time to learn to listen. They have set aside time to spend with him. They have embraced a disciplined thirst for meditating on his Word, and waiting on him in quietness and submission.
Try to make some time to really listen to him today. Above the clatter and busyness of your life, learn to move beyond hearing to listening. He’s talking all the time, if we will only stop to listen. Don’t complain that he never speaks to you. He has, he is, and he will. Just slow down, and listen!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Amen!
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