February 14, 2016: Are You Listening?

Luke 3:1-6

John the Baptist was on a mission from God. He was a prophet, a man totally consumed by the things of God. He didn’t see things as others saw them; he saw things through the eyes of God. When John spoke, he spoke for God. And he could speak for God because first he listened to God. Says Luke, “the word of God came to John…in the desert.” In the desert—the lonely, desolate desert where John had gone to meet with God, where John had gone to be quiet before God, where John had gone to listen for the voice of God.

In Irving Shaw’s play, “Saint Joan,” Joan of Arc hears voices from God. The king, who will one day condemn her to death at the stake, is irritated by this. “Oh, your voices, your voices,” he says. “Why don’t your voices come to me? I am the king, not you.”

“They do come,” replies Joan. “They do come, but you do not hear them.”

What about us? Are we choosing to hear? When the voices speak today—and they do still speak—are we listening? When the prophets of God sound the alarm today, are we choosing to hear? God’s usual method of speaking to us is through the Bible. We must read so we can hear him speak.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes that we may see Jesus. Open our ears that we may hear your still, small voice speaking words of truth, comfort, and direction. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Anthony Vis, a retired pastor in the RCA. This Lenten series comes from Words of Hope, whose mission is to build the church in the hard places through media. To learn more about the organization or subscribe to Words of Hope’s daily devotions, visit www.woh.org.