Are You Listening?

Mary heard God’s voice in a world that wasn’t listening anymore. When the angel Gabriel appeared, she was confident his message was from the Lord, even though it had been so long since God had spoken. Only a few remembered–and heeded–his last words.

Four hundred years earlier, God had last spoken to the Jewish people through Malachi. He sent Malachi to assure them of his unwavering love yet warn them that the promised Messiah would judge their lacking character and lethargic worship. The last thing the Israelites had heard from God was an exhortation to pursue true righteousness as they waited for the Savior.

Mary might have wondered if she was the only one who would believe God’s promise to her. A visit to her cousin Elizabeth dispelled her worry. Elizabeth was pregnant because her husband, Zechariah, had also heard God’s voice.

***

During God’s 400-year silence, Israel faced a crisis. Regimes benevolent to the Jewish faith caused competing values to war in Israel. Some became zealous, protecting the Jewish way of life against outside culture at all costs. They called themselves Pharisees. Others regarded the benefits of assimilation to such a degree they all but abandoned true faith. These Sadducees, primarily influential priests, valued power over righteousness. Both groups became deaf to God’s voice.

A tyrant came to power and caused the world to notice a third group of Jews who had been quietly living out God’s last directives. The Maccabean Revolt ensued. Its leader, Mattathias, and his valiant sons put defiant fists in the air, declaring that it was better to die than to abide the desecration of their faith.

Although Zechariah was a priest, his Sadducee heritage gave way to Maccabee-like character. He and Elizabeth were able to hear God speak as they lived upright lives.

Others were also listening. God’s word traveled far to the east where wise men understood the meaning of a star. They heard and embarked on a cross-country adventure. Joseph changed the entire trajectory of his life after hearing God speak. Mary and Joseph encountered a man named Simeon at the temple as they came to present Jesus to the Lord. Simeon was righteous and devout. God spoke to him and he heard. Even a band of uneducated shepherds emerged from the years of silence with their hearing intact.

What’s the common denominator, the thread tying these people together? What made them able to recognize Jesus as the Word when so many couldn’t? The sound of the Word becoming flesh fell on the ears of so many people who were deaf to it.

***

As I wonder about them, I wonder about us. Would we have been listening? Would our hearts have recognized God’s voice after all those years of silence?

I wonder how strong our hearing is today.

The faith of Mary, Joseph, and the others is a model for ours. They made three significant decisions during the silence that protected their ability to hear. Our hearing depends on the same three decisions.

Respond with repentance to God’s last word.

Have we obeyed the last thing we heard God say? Hearing without acting causes deafness. Malachi challenged the nation of Israel to prove their worship of God was genuine through righteous living. Those who were able to hear God’s next word repented and obeyed. Likewise, our ability to discern God’s next word depends on how our hearts respond to what we’ve already heard.

Recognize what God’s voice sounds like.

This is a learned skill. Mary and Zechariah’s songs, Simeon’s pronouncement, and the magi’s trip all show intimate knowledge of God’s words. Our hearts require the same practice. The more we hear God’s voice, the quicker our ears hear it.

Rehearse evidence you have seen of God working.

Those who heard God speaking at Jesus’s birth were expecting God to act. They chose to believe God really was who he said he was—that he was still working and could be trusted, even in the silence.

 

My soul glorifies the Lord
 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
 of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
 holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
 from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
 he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
 but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
 but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
 remembering to be merciful
 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
 just as he promised our ancestors.

(Luke 1:46–55 NIV)

Lori Florida’s life is all about her people. She’s convinced that being Mrs. to one and Mommy to eight will be her most significant way to serve Jesus. She wants to use her life to cheer on and coach the women coming behind her. Lori blogs at loriflorida.com.