“Do you ever think about what would happen if Ricky didn’t listen to what we said when we told him what we want for breakfast,” Stan asked me one morning after Ricky had taken our orders for Cook to fix our breakfast.
“I can’t say that I have,” I replied. “Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Stan said, “what do you think would happen?”
“If Ricky didn’t listen? I suppose Cook wouldn’t know what we want, he wouldn’t know what to fix, and we wouldn’t get what we want.”
“Exactly,” Stan replied. “And the same thing applies to me and my faith walk with God through the time I spend with Him each day.”
“You mean the time you spend journaling through the Bible?”
“That’s it,” Stan said. “The other day I was talking to a neighbor about that. He wanted to know more about the journaling I do each morning in my time with God.”
“What’d he want to know?”
“Several things,” Stan replied, “but his main focus was on wanting to do the same thing. He said he had tried to do it, but it was too hard for him to wake up, get out of bed, and do it.”
“I can relate to that,” I said. “I like to stay asleep in a warm bed!”
“I understand,” Stan replied. “I was the same way before God stepped in and did something similar to what He did with Peter, John, and James on the Mount of Transfiguration.”
“The Mount of Transfiguration?”
“Yeah,” Stan replied. “As you may remember, at one point Jesus and those three disciples went up on a mountain and Jesus was transfigured.”
“I do remember,” I said. “Jesus’ appearance changed; He looked different. But how does that have anything to do with you and your journaling?”
“It’s what Luke wrote in his gospel account of that experience,” Stan said. “Luke wrote that the disciples were asleep, but when they woke up that’s when it happened.”
“What happened?”
“God spoke and told them to listen to Jesus,” Stan replied. “It’s pretty much what I experience every morning.”
“In what way?”
“God wakes me up and, in essence, says, ‘Come on, I have some things for you to listen to.’ I get up, go to my desk, open my Bible, ask God to show and tell me all that He has for me, and then I start journaling about that.”
“Do you really think that can happen with everyone?” I asked rather skeptically.
“I do,” Stan replied. “If God can do what He has done with me, He can do it with anyone! All that is required is to wake up and listen.”
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Bible verses to consider:
Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. Luke 9:32.
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him.” Luke 9:35.
We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” — and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 2 Peter 1:16-18.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving your only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him can be in your eternal presence. Thank you that such eternal presence can begin on this side of eternity as I draw ever closer to you and listen in a deepening personal relationship. I confess that too often I do not listen to you and Jesus because I choose to not listen. Please forgive the foolishness of not listening to all you have to show and tell me about living this life for you and your kingdom. Help me to want to listen. Help me to actually listen by following every step of your lead in that direction. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Have you listened to God in the sense that you have accepted His free and gracious provision of life eternally with Him? If no, why? Why do you want to stay separated from Him for all of eternity? That’s a long time! If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with listening to all that God has to show and tell you? If you sense the need for change in wanting to listen — and in actually listening, how is that going to happen? Is that what you want? Why or why not?
Waiting for the Train 