Daily Devo: January 20, 2025
Learning to Listen
Luke 10:38-42
'While Jesus and his disciples were traveling, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his message. By contrast, Martha was preoccupied with getting everything ready for their meal. So Martha came to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to prepare the table all by myself? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered, “ Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her. ”
How do we hear God’s voice? In Luke’s gospel, we see Jesus' short encounter with Mary and Martha. Jesus contrasts Martha’s frantic activity with Mary’s seeming quiet contemplation. Martha moves about, fueled by worry and distraction, while Mary sits quietly at Jesus’ feet. This is the primary posture of a follower of Jesus: sitting at his feet and listening.
Hearing God’s voice is rooted in our ability to quite the other voices that distract and worry us. God doesn’t speak in the way we speak; yet God speaks. Ultimately, we hear God through the words of Jesus, then scripture, circumstances, desire, spiritual friends, dreams, teachers, prophets, the “still small voice,” and more. Learning to tune into the voice of God requires us to practice listening for that voice. Here’s a hint: the voice will sound like Jesus’ voice. As Archbishop Michael Ramsey once put it, "God is Christlike, and in Him is no un-Christlikeness at all.”
Learning to sort through the various “voices” that fight for our attention and focusing on God’s voice is a key task of discipleship. Learning to hear is step one. Learning to obey is the ultimate task. Our desire, then, becomes learning to listen to God with a heart of loving surrender and trust.
What has worried you, caused you anxiety, or distracted you recently? How might you hear and respond to Jesus’ invitation to sit and listen today?
Luke 10:38-42
'While Jesus and his disciples were traveling, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his message. By contrast, Martha was preoccupied with getting everything ready for their meal. So Martha came to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to prepare the table all by myself? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered, “ Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her. ”
How do we hear God’s voice? In Luke’s gospel, we see Jesus' short encounter with Mary and Martha. Jesus contrasts Martha’s frantic activity with Mary’s seeming quiet contemplation. Martha moves about, fueled by worry and distraction, while Mary sits quietly at Jesus’ feet. This is the primary posture of a follower of Jesus: sitting at his feet and listening.
Hearing God’s voice is rooted in our ability to quite the other voices that distract and worry us. God doesn’t speak in the way we speak; yet God speaks. Ultimately, we hear God through the words of Jesus, then scripture, circumstances, desire, spiritual friends, dreams, teachers, prophets, the “still small voice,” and more. Learning to tune into the voice of God requires us to practice listening for that voice. Here’s a hint: the voice will sound like Jesus’ voice. As Archbishop Michael Ramsey once put it, "God is Christlike, and in Him is no un-Christlikeness at all.”
Learning to sort through the various “voices” that fight for our attention and focusing on God’s voice is a key task of discipleship. Learning to hear is step one. Learning to obey is the ultimate task. Our desire, then, becomes learning to listen to God with a heart of loving surrender and trust.
What has worried you, caused you anxiety, or distracted you recently? How might you hear and respond to Jesus’ invitation to sit and listen today?
Posted in Daily Devo
No Comments