First Things First, Part 3: Listen

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the #1 thing on my to do list every day is this:

#1  be loved, and listen.

In the first two blogs I’ve talked about receiving God’s love—why it is important, and what can help me to do that. Today I’d like to focus on the second half of my number one: listen. After I have spent time being still, reconnecting with God, and filling up with His love, I try to listen for what He might be saying to me personally.

How does He speak to me?  Well, it’s never been through an audible voice, that’s for sure. (At least not so far.)  But I do feel like He communicates to me in these ways:

• Through His word: My husband Andrew and I read the One Year Bible every year, and I have often just asked God to point out one verse in that reading that He wanted me to think about during the day. Often I will write it on a post-it or a card and take it with me.
• Through others: Andrew and I spend some time talking in the morning about what we are reading. It is amazing how we focus on such different things in the same verses. And hearing his perspective gives me insight I would not otherwise have. Other ways to hear from others: podcasts, music, books (by authors such as Henri Nouwen, C.S. Lewis, Francis Chan, Chuck Swindoll) devotionals (I love Charles Ringma and Jesus Calling). [Be careful, though, about someone coming up to you and saying “God told me to tell you this.”]
• Through circumstances: I am going through some changes in my workplace, and praying about this helps me see that God is orchestrating all of it. He will open and close the doors and help me know what is next.
• Through nature: As I write this, I am sitting out on the back porch of our home, which is kind of like a treehouse. Birds are chirping all around me. It is peaceful. Quiet. Calm. In the stillness, He fills me with His presence.  There is room to hear what God is saying.
• Through His still small voice whispering in my heart. I keep a journal and try to write down something I think God is saying to me.

What does He say?  Well it’s usually nothing earth-shattering. When I look back at what I have written in past journals, sometimes He’s given me a specific direction—for example, call _______. Send ______a text. Apologize. Rest. Wait. More often than not, His words are just reassuring me. Reminding me of His presence, and that I don’t need to be afraid.  Telling  me that He loves me. And that I am worth loving.

How do you best hear God?  What has He been saying to you?

Don’t miss the other posts in this series!

First Things First, Part 1: #1 On My To-Do List

First Things First, Part 2: The Key

First Things First Part 4: How God Can Speak Through the Bible

First Things First, Part 5: How to Get Back on Track with God When Life Happens

First Things First, Part 6: Why Listening to God is So Important