Here's a re-post I happened to come upon. I enjoyed reading it again and thought you might, too.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
You know, it really is all about hearing and I don't mean just physical hearing, but hearing in order to gain understanding and knowledge concerning all things spiritual. The it I just mentioned covers every area of our lives whether pertaining to things, people, courses of action, problem solving, anything and everything. We need to know who or what is speaking the things we hear.
Jesus spoke often about the importance of hearing, emphasizing what He was about to say sometimes with, "he who has ears, let him hear." This reminds me of something He spoke to me not too long ago which I found rather humorous and actually laughed out loud when I heard Him say it to me. I had been asking Him for a breakthrough in a long standing situation for a family member which had been of great concern to us. After I had laid it all out to Him, made my request and had become quiet, I heard inside, "All is well, all is exceedingly well." My response was, "Is that You, LORD, or am I just talking to myself." His immediate response to me was, "I hope I wasn't just talking to My self." I laughed so hard. He does have a sense of humor! I always smile when I remember that, and at times laugh out loud all over again. It's not the only thing He's said to me which made me laugh, but this was to me the funniest! He definitely knows my sense of humor...and He knows yours, too.
This only re-emphasized another statement He made to me sometime before that. One day I was putting on my spiritual armor while literally thinking about what each piece represents. When I got to the helmet of salvation, I was declaring in faith that I have ears to hear and that's when He interrupted me right on the spot. What He said to me was quite effective and it was this: "You have ears that hear, you need ears that listen." Oh my. How the depth of the meaning pierced my heart. I had heard Him speak many times, but this let me know it was time for a greater awareness to hear what He was saying to me. From that day I've endeavored to have listening ears on purpose and to receive by faith greater acuity by His Spirit to hear and respond more readily to what He is saying. I don't have to strain to hear as I did in years past, but I do have to quieten my soul and be still in order to listen to Him speak, and not surprisingly, He always does. Sometimes it's without words, an impression, a knowing on the inside, or simply a sense of peace that all is well.
I've said all this to share at this point that our surroundings and circumstances "speak" to us, also-our bills, jobs, cars, the news, the weather, our body, our bank accounts, or even lack of them- they all have a voice and speak to us in any number of ways even as the fig tree spoke to Jesus. It definitely spoke to Him because He answered it! Take a look at Mark 11:14:
Jubilee Bible 2000
Then Jesus, answering, said to the fig tree, Never again shall anyone eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. (my emphasis)And in the King James Version
14And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. (my emphasis)The Word lets us know He answered a fig tree. Isn't that amazing? That statement has always captivated me. What do you think the fig tree said to Him? I think it was something like, "Ha, ha, ha! You're hungry, but you won't get anything to eat from me!" Kind of like something the enemy would say, don't you think? (And just so you know, if a fig tree had leaves it should also have something on it you could eat as well. For more information see paragraph 4 and 5 Here.)
So, if a fig tree spoke to Jesus, you know our surroundings and circumstances speak to us! Especially when we're in need of something, and you can be assured that what they're saying is always going to try to enforce the negative. Since Jesus answered the fig tree, maybe we should start answering the negatives coming from the things concerning our lives and well being. We at least need to become aware of what we hear because often we've become so indoctrinated to hearing all the things that are wrong, we allow them without opposition and that's what the enemy of our soul desires. The more unopposed his influence, the greater the damage that can be done to us over time.
Jesus knew how to answer the enemy of His soul and He knows how to deal with the enemy of ours. This brings me back to what He said to me that made me laugh so hard. He really is glad when He's not just talking to himself when He so much desires for us to hear what He says to us personally to help us overcome our problems. There is no greater help in time of need than He is. As usual, I must add, it's our choice to receive Him and His help. He won't force His way or thoughts on us, but He's always willing to bring us up increasingly on His level of seeing, understanding, and yes, answering. But we really do need to ask Him for listening ears and practice hearing what He has to say to us personally. As He told me, (if we've received Him) we already have ears that hear, now we need to practice listening to what He has to say. It will always be for our good.
I'll say it again, it really is all about hearing....and that's all I've got to say about that....at least for now.
*Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.