Oh, Be Careful Little...

As I read my Bible this morning, I was reminded of how much I love the crisp sound of Bible pages turning, and in thankfulness for the gift of hearing, I decided to study "hearing." I have always prayed and asked the Lord to "open my eyes, that I might behold wondrous things out of thy law," (Ps 119:18), and He never fails me: if I really want to see - He DOES show me wondrous things as I read His Word. But what about hearing?? I am mindful of the fact that the Bible says that faith cometh by hearing (Romans 10:17).

Imagine being able to see an orchestra, but not hear it, or being able to hear the waves crashing on the beach, but not see the ocean! Praise the Lord, our senses work together to help us enjoy God's creation, and Praise the Lord for being fortunate enough to not be deaf or blind. But even Helen Keller was quoted as saying that "It is a terrible thing to see, but have no vision." The gifts of sight and hearing are of little value to us spiritually if we do not choose to see and hear what God wants us to see and hear.

I am reminded of the children's song" Oh, be careful little eyes (ears) what you see (hear)." We need to be careful not to look at or hear things that will hurt us spiritually; but also, in studying the Bible, we need to be careful that we are not just seeing or hearing the words without applying ourselves to understanding what we are seeing and hearing. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 13:13, that "seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."

In I Samuel 3:9+10, Samuel could hear God calling him, but it was not until Eli told him to tell the Lord to "Speak: for thy servant heareth," that God revealed more to him. Like Samuel, we must make a conscious decision to really listen to what we are hearing, and really see what we are seeing when we study the Bible. I like what the Psalmist says in Ps 85:8 - "I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints..." 


Lord, help me to always remember to truly hear what You are saying when I study Your Word!