So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” (John 8:45-47)

Read: Hosea 9:1 – 14:9

Relate: My room was my sanctuary when I was in high school. I was part of a big family that lived in a very small house but somehow me and my older sister both did get to our own room to ourselves while my three younger brothers shared one room and my three younger sisters another. The town we lived in was once a swamp so all the rooms in our basement did have a tendency to get damp. I combated this by having a dehumidifier that was running pretty much nonstop in my room. By positioning this dehumidifier right at the door it also had the added benefit of of acting as a sound damper. My siblings could be arguing or playing the Super Nintendo in the family room right outside and that dehumidifier could drown out nearly all the noise. Even better from my perspective, I could play my music quite loud and that noise, er… music, seemed to drop quite a few decibels once passing that door.

When we were in the process of adopting our youngest sibling, Rachel, a social worker had to come and do a home visit. My mom was talking with her upstairs while I was down in my room. They wanted me to join in the discussion for a bit so my mom came to the top of the stairs and called down to me. I didn’t hear. With that dehumidifier going I never heard. At least, that was my story and I’m sticking to it. After calling a few times with no response, mom turned to the social worker and said, “Now watch this.” She opened up the fridge. Within seconds I came bounding up those stairs. It wasn’t the first time she had pulled that trick on me and it always worked. Somehow my internal radar was tuned to the sound of that door even when there was no humanly possible way for me to hear it. Even when everything else was tuned out, I could still hear what I wanted to hear.

React: Jesus puts listening out there as the litmus test for those who are and who are not the people of God. Sometimes we claim to be listening but there are spiritual “dampeners” interfering with His voice just like that dehumidifier. We claim to be waiting on God but the TV is getting in the way. How can we hear Him when the noise of Breaking Bad, Fargo, or How I Met Your Mother is eating away at our time. Or perhaps it is facebook, twitter, and candy crush that we waste our time on. Do I get as excited for Sunday mornings as I do when Masihiro Tanaka is taking the mound for the Yankees? Is my time in the Bible taking a backseat to the World Cup in Brazil? It has been said, “If you want to experience revival in your life, narrow your interests.”

What are the dehumidifiers in my life that need to be unplugged so that I can better listen and hear the voice of God?

Respond: 

God speak to me. I am hear… listening.