FIRSTනියැදිය

Stop, Look and Listen

By John Spurling

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

On a recent trip home with my family to visit my aging parents, I had the opportunity to take my teenage daughter on a little tour of some historic landmarks from my childhood—places where I used to live, streets I used to play on (this was back in the ’60s when kids still played in the street) and special memories I had of the carefree days of childhood. During our tour, I took my daughter on the two-mile walk I made each afternoon as a kindergartener from school to my home. As we retraced the path I had taken so many years ago, my mind raced back to a time when the school year was just beginning and my mother would tell me over and over again: “John, remember to stop, look and listen for traffic before you cross the street.” Stop ... Look ... Listen ... That was sound advice for a five-year-old trying to navigate his way across a busy avenue.

Much has changed over the years as I’ve grown to adulthood. Gone are the innocent and uncomplicated days filled with the “three Rs” and the adventures of creative play. Life is now more complex, and my carefree days have been replaced with a hectic schedule of important matters that constantly make demands on my time. But those three simple words still serve to guide me as I seek to navigate this path of life and make my way, day by day, towards my eternal home. They remind me of my commitment to make the study of God’s Word a deep priority in my life; having learned time and time again that His Word “is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

If we desire to truly hear from God, we must be ruthless in maintaining a consistent schedule that includes opportunities for us to stop and remove ourselves from the hurried pace of life and invest in God’s Word. Starting each day by first putting God and His Word in our hearts, on our minds and into our actions not only helps us make better decisions, it also aligns our lives with the purposes and priorities of God for that day.

In James’ letter to the Jews that were scattered among the nations, he explains that we all face the challenge to consistently stop and “look carefully into the perfect law [God’s Word] that sets you free, and if you do what it says ... then God will bless you for doing it” (James 1:25, NLT). As I stop and look intently into the Word of God, I always come away more enriched and inspired to stand firm in my faith and stand up to the challenges I face with wisdom from heaven.

When Jesus was teaching the multitudes, He would often communicate spiritual truth in the form of a short story or “parable.” At the end of these teaching times, He frequently concluded with the phrase, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15; 13:9; 13:43). By using this statement to close His parables, Jesus was challenging us to listen, receive the Word of the Lord and then allow that Word to change us from the inside out. The truth is that God is speaking to each of us today if we’ll only listen for His voice. As God says through the words of the psalmist, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). In other words, God is saying, “Shhhhhhhhhhh. Be silent and listen for the words I have for you—words that can transform your life.”

In many ways, at many times and through many means, God is intimately interested in pouring His wisdom into our lives. And the primary method of communication He chooses to use is His written Word. As we make the Bible our first and primary source for guidance and wisdom, its timeless truth has the power to comfort and correct us; guide and judge us; inspire and humble us (Hebrews 4:12). Be sure to stop, look and listen by making His Word the first priority in your life today.

The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.

~ A.W. Tozer

Memory Verse

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4