We Are Listening
This blog was expanded by OMS Hungary team members Daniel and Amanda Buck from one of their personal newsletters.
Over the past few months, God seems to have chosen a single theme and He has been repeating it to us over and over again. And it’s a challenging one… listening. God has been asking us what it means to really listen. What does it mean to genuinely listen, not only to what we hear the Holy Spirit saying in our lives (although that is of the utmost importance), but also to those around us? Especially in the busyness and the noise of today, listening is a huge challenge. And even if we are listening, are we truly listening to hear and understand, or just to respond?
“Fools have no desire to learn, instead they would rather give their own opinion.”
- Proverbs 18:2
How often do we take this lack of listening also into our church communities? Instead of listening to each other and trying to understand, we just talk about ourselves and what we think is right. In the upside-down world of the kingdom, we get to take a step back and listen before speaking. Sharing honor equally, even if we are not really sure we like the other person. Part of that is asking how God is moving in someone’s life.
In the Old Testament, the story of what God had done and was doing is what gave belief that He would continue to move. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 Jehoshaphat hears that “A vast army is coming against you…”How does Jehoshaphat respond? Gathering a large army? Preparing for a major siege? No. He gathers the people of Judah to seek help from the Lord. People from every town came. Standing in front of everyone, Jehoshaphat calls on the Lord, citing what God has done and His power, closing it with saying they, Judah, have no power, and “we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
How often do we reflect on what God has done in our lives? How does this work out day-to-day? As we are not always in a battle for our lives, how does this sharing shape our daily lives?
"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
- Hebrews 3:13
We strengthen each other through encouraging words, taking the time to hear how God is moving in people’s lives, and listening. Listening to where sin may be taking root in each others’ lives and bringing it to light so that together we can mutually lift one another out of the muck and grime that sin can cover us in.
With this idea in mind, we wanted to do something a bit different with our blog today. We want to give you the opportunity to be heard.
How is God moving in your life? What challenges are you experiencing? How can we be supporting you in prayer? We understand this is not a replacement for true face-to-face communication, but right now this is what we can and want to do.
So please comment or send us a message and let us know or connect with someone who you can share these things with. Make sure to take time to listen to their answers as well!
