Paula was the kind of little girl
everyone loved. She would come up to a complete stranger with a hug. She always
thought of gifts to give others. She noticed and cared how others were feeling.
And she was very good at giving compliments.
However, Paula did have one fault. Of
course, her parents had worked with her at home in this area, but as often
happens, attending school made the problem come to the forefront. The problem,
in Paula’s case, was not listening.
Not disobedience, but just never
seeming to hear in the first place. In exasperation, the teacher realized she
could yell Paula’s name across the playground and every other child would turn
to look, but not Paula. Was she hard of hearing? What could be the matter?
It did seem a little complicated.
Paula was a very sensitive child and often took flight into her own little
world of magical dreams. Perhaps she was so involved in make-believe she really
didn’t hear? But she needed to learn.
Finally, the teacher took Paula aside
and had a very serious talk with her. “You must acknowledge when I call your
name,” the teacher said. “Maybe you sometimes really don’t hear, but I can’t
tell the difference between when you are ignoring me and when you actually don’t
know that I called, so I’m going to have to give you consequences every time
you don’t at least stop and look at me when I call for you. You need to learn
to listen for the sound of my voice.”
There is little doubt we are living in
the final days. The world swirls about us, a sea of confusion with its
offerings. What is right and what is wrong? I wish, as some of you probably do,
as well, that we could be provided with a book of clear-cut instructions. Do
this and don’t do that, and I’ll be fine. But God’s plan for us is so much
bigger than a book of rules.
His plan is for each of us to learn to
listen for the sound of His voice. There are many things we can be doing right, yet still have a problem with hearing. It is so easy to go through life making our
choices based on what others are doing or waiting to see how we feel. That last bit is
tricky. God can sometimes speak through how we feel, but this can also be the
result of an over or under-active conscience. This only adds to the importance
of knowing, truly knowing, the voice of the Ultimate Teacher.
The Church has made decisions on many
important topics. They are available for us to peruse. But when we go about our
daily life, are we making use of those teachings? Do we regard them as the
Voice of the Father? Are we listening intently to every nuance of how He
speaks? It is easy, and sometimes seems simpler to forget that He communicates
with us through the doctrines of the Church, the guidelines, our ministers, and
our brothers and sisters.
Even with all these valuable
resources, there will still be days when we wonder what the path forward holds.
We will need to search out His whisper. We will need to throw ourselves on His
mercy and sit silently, waiting for His voice. “So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
But we do not need to fear that we
will not recognize His voice. If we are in true and humble submission to Him,
He has clearly told us that “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me.” (John 10:27)
It didn’t take Paula long to learn to
listen for her teacher’s voice after this conversation. We may be surprised how
quickly we, too, can learn if we apply ourselves in listening. The clamor of
entertainment, our selfish desires, and the many concerns of the world around
us attempt to shut out His quiet whisper. But there is no doubt that it is
there.
And so today I long to clean out my
ears and renew my vows once again to listen, truly listen. I long to know, to the
depth of my being, the sound of my Teacher’s voice. For today. For tomorrow.
Until Forever.
Other verses I found on the topic:
Jeremiah 33:3
John 8:47
Isaiah 30:21
John 16:13
Luke 11:28
