Verse from Ecclesiastes

After all, God is in heaven, and you 
are here on earth. So let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2 nlt

Scripture has much to say about listening, especially when it comes to God. Ecclesiastes is rather blunt: “Keep your ears open and your mouth shut” (Ecclesiastes 5:1 nlt). It reminds us that God knows a whole lot more than we do—“God is in heaven” (v. 2)—so it’s wise for us to listen to Him. A verse in Proverbs seems to resonate with the quotes from Headlee and Covey: “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions” (18:2).

What does this mean for us? As we come before God in prayer, we would do well to make time to actually listen to Him, not just rattle on with our lists of concerns and worries. And as we find ourselves in conversations with others today, we might be surprised at how our relationships deepen when we’re really listening to them, not just figuring out what we want to tell them.

Verse from Judges

The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. Judges 11:29

Although a mighty warrior, Jephthah was rejected by his half brothers and driven away from their town. They told him, “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family . . . because you are the son of another woman” (Judges 11:2). “So Jephthah fled from his brothers” and settled in another area (v. 3).

Although his family rejected him, God didn’t. When an enemy made war on Israel, it was Jephthah that the people turned to for help (vv. 4-6). They said, “Be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites” (v. 6). God used and helped Jephthah to subdue their enemy (vv. 29, 32-33) and to later lead Israel (Judges 12:7).

When we’re rejected by others, let’s keep trusting and obeying God. It’s how He sees us and what He wants us to do that matters.

Verse from Psalms

“For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭96:4‬ ‭

Sitting in his wheelchair at a senior citizens home in Belize, a man joyfully listened as a group of American high school teenagers sang about Jesus. Later, as some of the teens tried to communicate with him, they discovered he couldn’t talk. A stroke had robbed him of his ability to speak.

Since they couldn’t carry on a conversation with the man, the teens decided to sing to him. As they began to sing, something amazing happened. The man who couldn’t talk began to sing. With enthusiasm, he belted out “How Great Thou Art” right along with his new friends.

It was a remarkable moment for everyone. This man’s love for God broke through the barriers and poured out in audible worship—heartfelt, joyous worship.

We all have worship barriers from time to time. Maybe it’s a relationship conflict or a money problem. Or it could be a heart that’s grown a bit cold in its relationship to God.

Our non-talking friend reminds us that the greatness and majesty of our almighty God can overcome any barrier. 

Struggling in your worship? Reflect on how great our God is by reading a passage such as Psalm 96, and you too may find your obstacles and objections replaced by praise.

Verse from Exodus

Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied. Exodus 4:2 nlt

Moses’ shepherd’s staff was repurposed for something that would prove to be invaluable for the Israelites. God asked him, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replied, “A shepherd’s staff” (Exodus 4:2 nlt). Moses cared for sheep for forty years (Acts 7:29-30), but his staff would now be used to shepherd his people out of Egypt. The staff was a symbol of God’s working through Moses, and as he “[performed] the signs with it” (Exodus 4:17), God’s power was revealed. As Moses stretched out his “staff toward the sky” God rained hail on Egypt (9:23) and later allowed the Israelites to pass through “the sea on dry ground” (14:16).

God repurposed Moses’ staff and role to accomplish His purposes. He’ll often use our gifts and talents in fresh ways too.

Verse from Job

[None of Job’s friends] said a word to him, 
because they saw how great his suffering was. Job 2:13

For seven days, Job’s friends were a silent presence with their suffering friend (Job 2:13). Silence tends to make us uncomfortable, so we may try to fill that void with words. But in times of great suffering (like Job’s), words alone are often inadequate to express the comfort or help that the hurting person truly needs. 

Job’s friends caused more hurt when they began to offer answers that didn’t ease his hurt, pain, or loss. We can ask God to give us wisdom to know when to speak and when to offer the comfort of a silent presence with those who are hurting.

Verse from Proverbs

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬ ‭

Jane’s plans to become a speech therapist ended when an internship revealed the job was too emotionally challenging for her. Then she was given the opportunity to write for a magazine. She’d never seen herself as an author, but years later she found herself advocating for needy families through her writing. “Looking back, I can see why God changed my plans,” she says. “He had a bigger plan for me.”

The Bible has many stories of disrupted plans. On his second missionary journey, Paul had sought to bring the gospel into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus stopped him (Acts 16:6–7). This must have seemed mystifying: Why was Jesus disrupting plans that were in line with a God-given mission? The answer came in a dream one night: Macedonia needed him even more. There, Paul would plant the first church in Europe.

It’s sensible to make plans. A well-known adage goes, “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail.” But God may disrupt our plans with His own. Our challenge is to listen and obey, knowing we can trust God. If we submit to His will, we’ll find ourselves fitting into His purpose for our lives.

As we continue to make plans, we can add a new twist: Plan to listen. Listen to God’s plan.

Verse from Acts

Every day they continued to meet together. Acts 2:46

Finding a like-minded church may take time, but it’s vital. Life is difficult to face on our own, and that’s why God gave us families and communities. A church is a great place to build community.