Do the World a Favor: Listen!

I listened to a great sermon the other day about listening (the one called Please Listen). How important that is! What a gift it is to have someone listen to me! And I know that I too can give that gift to others. So often we feel the need to talk when what we really should do is shut our traps and just let someone else be heard. Really. It is a means of grace to others.
And listening doesn't just bless others- it glorifies God too.
Speaking of God, I encourage us to listen to Him too. Most of the time we do ALL the talking and don't even think about the possibility of letting Him get a word in edgewise. And sometimes when we do hear something from Him, we ignore it. I'll confess my guilt of this. The other day I was driving up to visit a friend. Something inside said, "Hmm, I'm going past the grocery store. I should call my friend and see if she needs anything." I came up with excuses not to stop though-I've offered before and she's almost always said no, there's a lot of traffic, I should just hurry up and get there, etc. Well, I get to the house and lo and behold, she was planning on having zucchini with dinner but what she thought was zucchini was actually cucumbers. I should have called! It's just a "silly" little story, but I really believe it wasn't just me, but a spiritual nudge to call and see if she needed anything at the grocery store.
Now, I have stories from the other end too. Recently, I have had conversations (spoken and written) with 3 separate people who all told me something along the lines of "I didn't have peace" or "I was concerned for you about something..." And boy do I wish those people would have spoken up regarding their concern for me!!! God places these burdens on our hearts for a reason!! If we want to be God's instruments, we must listen and obey, no matter how small it may seem. Even if it's just for a zucchini. I'm not trying to super-spiritualize life here. But I think sometimes we profane it all too much. Profane as in not just underspiritualize, but de-spiritualize. I think we can find a healthy balance between desensitivity and hypersensitivity. But we have to listen. This is something I want to learn and practice and I invite you to join me- listening to others and listening to- and obeying- that still small voice inside. Sshhhh!