Have you ever been talking to someone, and as you talked to them, they lost interest in what you were saying and their eyes began to drift around the room? Somewhere in that conversation there was a decision to disconnect and to think on or do something else. This can make the one who is talking feel wronged or slighted. It can truly be offensive for someone to ignore what you are saying while you are talking to them. Yet, it is my observation that we do this to the Lord on a regular basis.
Yes, I know that some people are just chatter boxes who never seem to even take a breath while they are talking, and you have to find some way to communicate that they have “lost” you. They seem to lack the ability to pick up the clues that normal people give when the conversation is being dominated by them. I once knew a woman that I was trying to help in this area. One of her problems was that she could not keep her friends. She made friends easily and naturally, but she lost them just as fast. She made friends easily because she could talk. She lost friends because she talked too much.
I decided I would try to help her. Big mistake! I tried every form of hint and communication technique to help her recognize when she had talked so much she lost the one she was talking to. Nothing seemed to help her. I showed her how people’s body language changes when she dominated the conversation to a degree that the person she was talking to had lost all interest in what she was saying. It didn’t work. I tried to help her see that she constantly got on subjects that were of no interest to the one she was talking to. That didn’t work. I tried to help her focus and stick to the subject so that I could continue to stay interested in the conversation. Another disaster was the result.
I finally came up with what I thought was a great idea. I took out a stop watch and said,” I’ll tell you what; let’s give equal time to each other. You talk for five minutes and then let me talk for five minutes.” I thought if I can help her to see what a normal conversation looked like, she could learn the technique of courtesy and concern for another in communication. Well, she talked over her five minutes and I said, “It’s my turn.” I had barely been speaking fifteen seconds before she jumped in saying, “I know! I had the very same thing happen to me etc., etc. etc.” I tried to stop her long enough to finish my sentence and she became offended saying, “I will not be put on a stop watch.” Dear one, I was deeply grieved, for I cared for that person a great deal and it pained me to see her lose her friends by her unwillingness to be silent long enough for a friend to share. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about this kind of person.
Prov. 18:2
A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in broadcasting himself”.
Proverbs 17:28
28 Even a fool, when he is silent, is counted wise, and he who shuts his lips is counted as a man of understanding.
Those are pretty strong words. Yet, they are life-giving to those who will receive them. Dear one, we learn by listening not by talking.
James 1:19
19 Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Still, I did not start this article to focus on those who talk too much, as important and vital as that is. Truly, it is necessary to stop someone who just prattles and rattles on and on with their own ideas, thoughts, opinions, and imaginations. But what if the one who is doing the talking is the fountain and source of all Wisdom. What if that someone who is communicating to us is God, Himself? How rude and foolish it would be for us to let our eyes and attention drift to something or someone else. How devastating to our spiritual walk it would be to lose interest in what He was sharing with us and instead decide to give our own opinions and ideas on the subject. It would be like saying,” Lord, quit your talking; I want to tell you what is really important.” Recently, I was shocked and grieved as I saw men and women of God who are mature and experienced do this exact thing.
We had spent an hour in prayer together and were at the point where the Lord had our attention and was able to speak to us because we had entered the realm of worship and prayer where He abides. Do you know what we did? Instead of saying as young Samuel did, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening”; we went into an hour of giving our own ideas, thoughts, opinions, and imaginations. I have never seen a clearer demarcation of our ability to shut the Lord out of an absolutely critical moment when we desperately needed to hear from Him. Still, the saddest part of all was that there were many who did not even recognize what we had done. Have we become so spiritually insensitive that we can no longer recognize when we have grieved the Holy Spirit?
This incident caused me to seriously examine my own life and ask the question, “Lord, how often do I do this same thing?” As you know the year of 2012 is the year the Lord has promised to release to us the Wisdom of the Ages. What better Wisdom could we ask for than to discern the areas of our life where we have insulted the Lord by failing to listen while He was communicating to us? One of the most important lessons I have learned concerning the things of the Lord is that if we will ask of Him simply, honestly, and sincerely He will teach us. The problem is, we seldom ask in this way. Quite often we only want the Lord to affirm some preconceived theological theory we have adopted.
So I simply asked this question, “Do I sometimes fail to listen to you and walk away from your Wisdom when you are about to impart an important truth to me?” I then heard the Holy Spirit whisper this word, “compartmentalize”. As I thought on this word, the Holy Spirit began to show me how we have compartmentalized our lives in such a way that we totally shut out the voice of God in vast areas of our daily life. As one who has the privilege of waiting on the Lord for many hours out of every day, I could hardly believe my ears. Still, as the Holy Spirit began to illuminate the word “COMPARTMENTALIZE”, I could clearly see how I have been guilty of this very thing. This compartmentalization is a tool that the enemy uses to keep us from advancing in the things of the Lord. In truth, these are “strongholds” where Satan has sought to lock the Word of the Lord out.
Often our lives look something like this. A short prayer and devotion and then we go to work where we rarely listen to what the Lord is saying. We then decide we need some leisure time, so we watch television or go shopping or golfing or some other sport where again, we seldom invite the Lord to be part of our outings. Perhaps we have a board or council meeting that we open in prayer but then proceed to give our ideas, opinions, thoughts, or imaginations. Truly, I have spent hundreds of hours in such meetings where we slipped out of the presence of the Lord and His Wisdom into the opinions of men. I believe the saddest part of this is that, “we did not recognize we have left His presence for our own opinions”. How subtly this happens and how often. Would it not be Wisdom to ask the Lord to reveal to us how consistently we do this and then to show us how to avoid these tragic episodes?
Can you see that we “compartmentalize” our lives? It is as if we have these numerous sets of doors that we go through as we enter different activities in our lives. It seems as if we have a sign on these doors that reads, “Lord, this is my everyday practical life – do not enter.”; “This is my business door -do not enter.”; “This is my entertainment door- do not enter.” Do you see it? The most powerful stronghold is the one that is hidden or camouflaged. As long as we do not know we have one, we will never seek to do what the scriptures admonish us to do.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, 5 pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ; 6 and having readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Dear one, this is the year in which the Lord has promised that if we walk in His Wisdom, He will teach us how to recognize and destroy the compartmentalization of our lives. How will He do this? By imparting to all who ask in faith and to all who will have a “listening ear” to hear truth that will expose these strongholds. Another important truth we will need to grasp this year is that we must not give our opinions, ideas, reasoning, and imaginations until they have gone through the examination of God’s Word and approved by His Spirit. That means we will speak vastly less this year and “listen” vastly more.
I expect that the Holy Spirit will illuminate a number of critical verses to us this year and when received, understood, and practiced will revolutionize our lives. The following will be some of those verses.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
James 1:19
19 Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
MORE TO FOLLOW
Apostle Robert Rogers
