All my life I have been a "misses know it all". If you would come talk to me I would always an answer, even if the answer was wrong as long as I had the last say, it did not matter. Lately I have been asking God to convict me when I am not doing or saying things led by the Holy Spirit. Recently God convicted me about listening and responding. I was reading a book written by one of my favorite Evangelist and she stated:
"So choose to listen, resist the urge to criticize, insult, laugh, or make sarcastic remarks. Battle the press of time and urgency and the hunger to get away. Just lean in, quietly, emphatically, purposefully" (Shirer, 2011).
It wasn't just these couple of sentences that hit me it was the whole chapter. I thought to myself, I have not been a good listener. I started replaying various conversations with different people at different times in my life and I realized that I have been quick to speak, slow to hear and sometimes fast to anger. Conviction hit me like a ton of bricks. In the book of James chapter 1 verse 19 states "so then, my beloved brethen let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. (James 1:19 NKJV) I obviously had been doing it wrong. Saints, God wants us to get it right. There is a reason he has given us two ears and one mouth. It is our job to listen more and speak only when guided by the Holy Spirit. I am not just saying this to you but to myself as well. The question is do you truly hear what someone is trying to say? Do you wait on God to provide the answer? Then do you speak with the love of God? Or are you barely hearing what someone is saying, then responding with all of this "wisdom" that you MUST share with the world. If it is the latter I pray that God convicts you on this immediately, as He did me. It is not our job to have all of the answers or to always have something to say. It is our job to listen and to provide "wise" counsel. For Proverbs 12:15 states "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes; but he that heeds unto counsel is wise".
So I say this saints, let us be quick to hear, wait on the Lord to provide wisdom, then speak with love and the wisdom provided.
Here are some verses to help you along the way:
Quick to hear (Great Listening Skills)
Proverbs 17:27-28: He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. (NKJV)
Proverbs 18:13: He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.
Wait on the Lord to provide wisdom
Proverbs 5:1-2: My son, pay attention to my wisdom; lend your ear to my understanding, that you may preserve discretion, and your lips my keep my knowledge
Proverbs 2:2: So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-7: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord ad depart from evil
Proverbs 18:2: A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.
Speak Wisdom
Ecclesiastes 3:7: A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
James 1:26: If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.
So as I grow closer to a birthday milestone and embrace this new chapter of life I pray that God helps me in this area. My prayer is that I listen more, speak less and wait on the Lord to give me the words to say. I continuously pray, Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalms 141:3). Saints I pray the same for you. Everything does not need an immediate response, everything does not need your worldly wisdom. What people (friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, etc) need is God given wisdom, filled with love and understanding.
I close with this as Elihu in the book of Job said to Job, I also hear God saying this to me and apply your name if you see it fit;
Give ear, Pamela, listen to me! Hold your peace and I will speak, for I desire to justify you. If not, listen to me; Hold your peace and I will teach you wisdom.
Be Blessed
Pamela. A
BrandNewME
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