Friday, April 19 I will listen to you.​—Jer. 29:12.

[Áine]

 

Friday, April 19

I will listen to you.—Jer. 29:12.

 

As we read about how Jehovah cared for those who were loyal to him in the past, our hope will grow ever stronger. Everything in God’s Word was “written for our instruction, so that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4) Meditate on how Jehovah has kept his promises. Consider what God did for Abraham and Sarah. They reached the age when they could not have children. Yet, God promised them that they would have a child. (Gen. 18:10) How did Abraham react? The Bible says: “He had faith that he would become the father of many nations.” (Rom. 4:18) Even though from a human perspective the situation appeared hopeless, Abraham was confident that Jehovah would fulfill His promise. That faithful man was not disappointed. (Rom. 4:19-21) Such accounts teach us that we can always rely on Jehovah to fulfill his promises. w22.10 27 ¶13-14

 

[DancesWithWife]

Most translations use the word "listen" rather than "hear". Is there a difference between listening and hearing? Yes. I often think of the joke that a husband heard his wife, he just didn't listen to her. I think of Cain who heard God's warning but did not act on what he heard, he should have listened to the direction God was giving him. Cain's ego was bruised and that can cause some not to listen. Anger can cause a person not to listen. Good reminder not to just get our hearing checked physically but are we listening to what we take in spiritually too?

 

"Hearing is an accidental and automatic brain response to sound that requires no effort. We are surrounded by sounds most of the time. For example, we are accustomed to the sounds of airplanes, lawn mowers, furnace blowers, the rattling of pots and pans, and so on. We hear those incidental sounds and, unless we have a reason to do otherwise, we train ourselves to ignore them. We learn to filter out sounds that mean little to us, just as we choose to hear our ringing cell phones and other sounds that are more important to us."

 

"Listening, on the other hand, is purposeful and focused rather than accidental. As a result, it requires motivation and effort. Listening, at its best, is active, focused, concentrated attention for the purpose of understanding the meanings expressed by a speaker. We do not always listen at our best, however, and later in this chapter we will examine some of the reasons why and some strategies for becoming more active critical listeners."--source https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics-of-public-speaking/s07-01-listening-vs-hearing.html