Have you ever stood with your ear pressed up against a door? It was almost as if you were holding your breath at the same time in order to hear the conversation on the other side. Your rapid heartbeat matched the desire to know what was going on. You barely gave a second thought to the fact that maybe this conversation wasn’t yours to hear.

Now let’s think about how often we go to such extremes to listen to God. Do we hold our breath with anticipation and lean in close to catch every word? I began to ask myself this question throughout the past week after God laid several sets of verses before me to ponder. The image of standing at the door is one that portrays a deeper meaning than the chance to steal a few words of a conversation on the other side.

Better is one day in your courts

    than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10

I read these words and hear a call for attentiveness as we walk through each day. It’s almost as if we are standing watch to keep the enemy from entering our homes and hearts. It’s our chance to decide what we allow to come through the door. Only God could set up a world in which the choice is ours but the goal is Him.

Stand Watch

I am faced with more silence than ever. It doesn’t seem possible, but the world has slowed down and stillness is ever-present. I have an opportunity to stand at the doorway of my thoughts and actions and make a choice. Will I allow bad news to enter my house or will I filter it until only the good news makes it way through the door?

The idea of being a sentinel for the Good News is an honor. Maybe, you and I can stand watch together and learn from each other what God is calling us to do. Maybe, this is the time and place for us to listen more intently for what God is trying to teach us. Or maybe, God is trying to call us back to the time before life was busy and our focus strayed in other directions.

All I know is that God laid these verses in front of me for a reason. He took the time to show me the importance of waiting by the door and standing watch. It’s the thought that even if I tried to ignore the words, God would still bring them to my attention in another way.

God is our Way-Maker, Thought-Keeper, Attention-Getter, and Good News-Bearer. He calls us to listen and respond as He guides us closer to Him.

What do you hear in the quiet?

Things are really quiet today in my part of the world. Visits from family and friends are on hold as the world recovers from the coronavirus. I hear the occasional ping of my phone as a text message comes through or the strains of the theme from Downton Abbey when my phone rings, but most phone calls are usually marked as spam.

I am in a vacuum of silence that begs for something to breakthrough. But not all sounds are equal and in this time of an extended pause, I want to choose wisely.

So what are you listening to these days? Have you discovered new sounds that you never heard before? Are you standing watch in the doorway?

God calls us to listen and stand watch. He promises that when we find Him we find life. It doesn’t seem like too much to ask but I wonder how you and I will respond?

Blessed are those who listen to me,

    watching daily at my doors,

    waiting at my doorway.

 For those who find me find life

and receive favor from the Lord.

 But those who fail to find me harm themselves;

    all who hate me love death. Proverbs 8:34-36

Listen and Respond

How will you listen and respond today? Will you take the time to let God speak to you? What do you hear?

I hear so much better in the quiet.

Holy whispers stir the air near my morning quiet time chair.

The scratch of my pen as it moves across the journal page is busier than ever before.

The birds greet me with their morning song and never was it lovelier.

Neighbors in twos walk by my front window as they wind their way around the circular route.

But the sounds that stir my soul the most deeply reflect Hope and Peace.

God is our Way-Maker, Thought-Keeper, Attention-Getter, and Good News-Bearer. He calls us to listen and respond as He guides us closer to Him. #newpost #TellHisStory #linkup Click To Tweet

How are you listening and responding to God in these days of life flipped upside down? Are you keeping watch by the door by making choices that honor God?

Blessings,

Photo by Dabbas on Unsplash

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