Quick to Listen
We have a potty avoiding preschooler. Every person on the planet would look at him in these moments and ask him if he needs to go potty. Jumping up and down, he almost always replies with a strong “no.” A moment later, he dances around, exclaiming, “I am just dancing, I don’t need to go.”
This child will do anything to avoid interrupting the fun of life for a potty break. I think I will forever be able to hear his sweet, raspy voice fighting me on potty breaks. But inevitably, the moment always comes when there’s nothing more he can do. In a panic, he cries out, “I have to go bathroom.”
Would you believe me if I said I’m not that much different. My reluctance to deal with life doesn’t have to deal with a potty. But instead, my slowness to deal with the things in my heart.
Am I quick to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin in my life? Not always. Sadly, I am not only blind to my own sin, but I also don’t want to change at times. I don’t want to forgive, or take my thoughts captive. I don’t want to destroy the idols that I turn to for comfort or hope or joy.
Am I always open to the Lord’s work in my heart? No. I don’t always recognize the pain and disappointment and struggle in my heart, nor do I want to face it. I would rather just ride the waves of my emotion with nap or a tv show, rather than respond to those emotions in lament and honesty before the Lord.
But then it becomes an emergency. I find myself stuck in bitterness or feeling completely defeated, having lost sight of who is on the throne. I become desensitized to the convictions of the spirit, believing that my intake of other media matter more than my absolute need for God and His Word.
Unlike my four year old, my problem isn’t resolved by listening to my body better. My problem is being quicker to listen to the Holy Spirit. Being fast to cling to what is true, listening to the truth of God’s Word, reorienting my world around the reality of His good rule and reign. My problem is fixed as I am quick to bring every experience of life in this broken world to the God who has first drawn near to me. #exhalecreativity #exhalenoticewriting #dayfour #somethingmykidssay #notice