Hard of Listening
Is "listening" a natural talent or a skill that has to be learned?
I don't know about you, but listening is not one of my strong suits, as pointed out by my wife at ALL times. Recently she has accused me of not listening to her, so I decided to take some time to explore this phenomenon.
In the past and present, my wife has been astonished by how well I can hear. For example, I was once working in the crawl space under my house, and my phone dropped out of my pocket and was left there and had been left on vibrate. I completed working under the house and came back in; it wasn't until later I realized my phone was missing. We turned the house inside out looking for it and could not locate it anywhere. As a last-ditch effort, we called the phone, and I was able to hear the vibration of the phone coming from under the house.
After examining the acuteness of my hearing and finding it to be more than adequate, we can infer that it's not my hearing that is the problem.
So what else could it be?
I'm not ADD or ADHD, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE SOUND OF HER VOICE, we have similar interests, I LOVE HER DEARLY AND WANT HER TO BE HAPPY, etc. (A few browning points never hurt anyone)
My mental capacity is not lacking as I can retain vast quantities of newly learned information for long periods of time, I enjoy conversating, I have a pretty good grasp on comprehending the English language, etc. And I'm still not coming up with any answers.
And there are times as a married couple that we argue, fuss, and fight due to a simple misunderstanding caused by only hearing what one another might say, but not truly listening to what is actually being conveyed. So let's explore the meanings of the words "hearing" and "listening."
Hearing: The faculty or sense by which sound is perceived or the act of perceiving sound (cited from dictionary.com).
Listening: To give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear or to pay attention; heed; obey (cited from dictionary.com).
If we can't earnestly listen to those that are closest to us, as the example of my wife and I suggested, how can we truly listen to what God is speaking to our hearts? How often do we hear God's voice, but let the opportunities for Him to use us pass by, because of not genuinely listening? It's so easy to let life distract us from God's direction and purpose in our lives. So set your heart upon God and truly listen for His voice, take heed and obey the word He speaks to your heart.
Then Joshua said to the people, "Come here and listen to what the Lord your God has to say." (Joshua 3:9 GNT)
The Lord says, "Listen to me, you that want to be saved, you that come to me for help. Think of the rock from which you came, the quarry from which you were cut."(Isaiah 51:1 GNT)
I don't know about you, but listening is not one of my strong suits, as pointed out by my wife at ALL times. Recently she has accused me of not listening to her, so I decided to take some time to explore this phenomenon.
In the past and present, my wife has been astonished by how well I can hear. For example, I was once working in the crawl space under my house, and my phone dropped out of my pocket and was left there and had been left on vibrate. I completed working under the house and came back in; it wasn't until later I realized my phone was missing. We turned the house inside out looking for it and could not locate it anywhere. As a last-ditch effort, we called the phone, and I was able to hear the vibration of the phone coming from under the house.
After examining the acuteness of my hearing and finding it to be more than adequate, we can infer that it's not my hearing that is the problem.
So what else could it be?
I'm not ADD or ADHD, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE SOUND OF HER VOICE, we have similar interests, I LOVE HER DEARLY AND WANT HER TO BE HAPPY, etc. (A few browning points never hurt anyone)
My mental capacity is not lacking as I can retain vast quantities of newly learned information for long periods of time, I enjoy conversating, I have a pretty good grasp on comprehending the English language, etc. And I'm still not coming up with any answers.
And there are times as a married couple that we argue, fuss, and fight due to a simple misunderstanding caused by only hearing what one another might say, but not truly listening to what is actually being conveyed. So let's explore the meanings of the words "hearing" and "listening."
Hearing: The faculty or sense by which sound is perceived or the act of perceiving sound (cited from dictionary.com).
Listening: To give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing; give ear or to pay attention; heed; obey (cited from dictionary.com).
If we can't earnestly listen to those that are closest to us, as the example of my wife and I suggested, how can we truly listen to what God is speaking to our hearts? How often do we hear God's voice, but let the opportunities for Him to use us pass by, because of not genuinely listening? It's so easy to let life distract us from God's direction and purpose in our lives. So set your heart upon God and truly listen for His voice, take heed and obey the word He speaks to your heart.
Then Joshua said to the people, "Come here and listen to what the Lord your God has to say." (Joshua 3:9 GNT)
The Lord says, "Listen to me, you that want to be saved, you that come to me for help. Think of the rock from which you came, the quarry from which you were cut."(Isaiah 51:1 GNT)
Comments
Post a Comment