My mind began wandering after asking the Lord for a lesson to communicate in this article. As I waited, my eyes focused on the little heart-shaped clock my husband gave me last year for Christmas. It was setting on the table next to the place where I have my devotions each morning. I usually check the time on my phone, but for some reason the clock caught my eye this morning. I noticed the secondhand moving and suddenly, as if by some miracle, my ears were unplugged enabling me to hear the ticking of the clock’s hand moving from one second to another. Funny how I never heard that ticking sound before! Then I peered at my recent memory verse:
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Habakkuk 2:1.
The phrase “I will look to see what he will say to me” has gone over and over in my mind for a few weeks. How do you look to hear? Looking at the clock made the meaning of this verse clearer to me. I never heard the ticking sound of the clock until my eyes focused on it. The clock has been ticking beside my chair every day for almost a year, but I just now heard it! Why? I noticed the beauty of its frame, but I never focused on its mechanics by listening to see if it was working. So what was God’s lesson for me?
First, I must be expectantly watching for God to speak. God can speak audibly, but He usually speaks to me through His Word, His creation and His people. So I must focus on these to see what God will say to me.
I must also be standing as I watch to hear—standing still, not fidgeting like a child waiting in line to go to recess! Now this is hard and costs precious time; however, the Lord commands us to be still: Be still and know that I am God Psalm 46:10. When I take the time to sit still and focus on God’s Word, He will eventually speak in my stillness.
After I look to see and stand still to hear, I must station myself with readiness to respond to what I have heard. Habakkuk watched and waited patiently and then the Lord replied, Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it Habakkuk 2:2. When I do not respond to His voice, it fades just as the clock’s ticking sound fades as I focus on other things. Instead, I am to get up from this devotional chair and run with the message God has spoken to me.
How about you? Have you been looking to hear God speak? Slow down, focus on hearing God’s voice and when you hear His voice today, respond and do not delay! Oh how sweet the sound of God’s ticking. If only we would take the time to look to hear what He will say!
Running with the Message!
Nancy Taylor, provetheword@gmail.com
Author of Taking the Word to Heart
Read more from Nancy on her blog at http://provetheword.blogspot.com/