Are you ready for life
Are You Prepared? How do you prepare for work? How about for a date? Do you have a specific preparation routine before you go to the gym? How about when you wash clothes, shop for groceries, or plant a garden? Preparation is essential for any area of life, especially if we are going to have any kind of effectiveness.
The book of James reminds us of the importance of preparing to hear from the God of the universe.
Open my ears—be quick to listen. Having open ears means anticipating that God has something to say that will have an impact on my emotions, my thinking, and my will. Having open ears means that I will receive what God has to say without a debate, a fight, or a prideful attitude.
Close my mouth—slow to speak. Someone has quipped, “God has given us one mouth and two ears so that we would listen twice as much as we talk.” We really can’t hear from God when we are constantly talking. Sometimes we should prepare to hear from God in silence.
Cool my head—slow to become angry. Anger is an emotion that constantly battles against God’s Word and ultimately prevents the Word from having its intended impact in our lives.
Clean my life—get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the Word. Just as an infection impairs our physical hearing, so sin blocks our spiritual ears, preventing us from hearing what God has to say.
Your heart is like a precious garden. If left to itself, the soil will produce only weeds—materialism, worry, hatred, jealousy, envy, sexual sins, harsh words, problems, and “being a know-it-all but practicing none-at-all.” These things choke out the effectiveness of God’s Word. Are you prepared to hear what God has to say to you? —Marvin Williams bottom line: Open ears start with an open heart for God.
