Ears To Hear

“Hear Instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it” (Proverbs 8:33).

As I get older I think my hearing is getting dimmer, but my spiritual ears need never grow dim. Romans 10:17 tells us that it is by hearing God’s Word that brings faith to our hearts. It is not just hearing with our ears but we must hear with our hearts and then obey Its instructions that brings faith and wisdom. Disdaining God’s instructions makes us a fool.

This Proverb was written to his son, by Solomon, the wisest man to ever live. If authority instructions are of the Lord we are to obey (Eph.6:1), but if we have ungodly authority who instruct us in wicked ways, we are not to obey them. The only way to learn God’s instructions is to read, study and meditate on them throughout His Word. This is “hiding” it in our hearts. David, Solomon’s father, loved the Word of God and said he would hide it in his heart that he may not sin against God (Ps.119:11). He hid it in his heart by reading, studying and meditating on it, and probably memorizing it.

We all make mistakes; we sometimes fail to follow God’s instructions; we go our own way and depend on our own intellect and wisdom, which lead us into wrong paths and bad failures and sins. But turn back to hearing God’s Word and instructions. He says, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). The Word of God shows us the way out of the pit into which we have fallen (usually by our own wrong choices). God is speaking, are we listening?

“His Word is a light on our path of life and a lamp to the next step we take” (Psalms 119:105). “Every scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience and training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose and action) (II Tim. 3:16 Amp.).

Since I have been able to read I have loved reading the Bible. The wonderful stories of the Old Testament have satiated my appetite for adventure, all the while building my faith in a God of miracles when only the omnipotent could help; a God of provision in the midst of want, a God Who brought joy in the midst of sorrow; a God Who brought peace in the midst of chaos; a God Who brought knowledge in the midst of ignorance; a God Who brought freedom in the midst of bondage and a God Who brought salvation to the lost. I learned to know God by reading and obeying His instructions.

I have loved the parts of God’s Word that have taught me how to live and how to die; the parts that would show me my sins and gently correct me onto the right path. I am comforted and encouraged as I understand more and more how much God loves us all, not our sin, but each of us as His unique creation made in his image. I weep when I read how Jesus, the Son of God, loved me so much that He chose to die for my sin on the cross, and that was all in the Father’s plan before He created the universe. I cannot comprehend that kind of love. I love to read of the home He is preparing in heaven for all of those who choose to love Him and accept Him as their God and Savior.

I may not understand all that is in the Bible, but His Holy Spirit, Who lives within me, illuminates and guides me into all truth; and He enables me to understand all I need to follow Jesus and embrace His every word as “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” The faith to believe this starts with hearing the Word of God.

Today I choose to hear God’s instructions and to learn of Him and to get to know Him more and more. Someone once said (and I agree), “To know Him is to love Him.”

“I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life” (Psalm 119:93).