Happy New Ears - Take 2

What does the above picture initially look like to you? Does it resemble a piece of jewelry, or maybe a free hand drawing of some exotic design?

Here’s another question:  What is the ‘heart of hearts’? You’ve no doubt heard this expression, e.g., being not sure of something in your ‘heart of hearts.’ It typically refers to the seat of a person’s feelings’ or depths of conscience or emotions’.

Ok, enough questions. Please share your view. Here’s my take:

The HEART of HEART is … your EAR

Here’s why. First, the English word, ear, is in the middle of the English word heart. Simple, right? ;o)

The second reason is more profound, interesting, and Biblically-based. God is profoundly concerned with our hearing – our spiritual hearing or hearing within our heart. By my count, there are no less than 23 Scripture verses that reference some version of the expression, ‘ears to hear or do not/cannot hear’. A similar, oft used expression is, ‘eyes to see or do not/cannot see’. So it is clear we have at least two sets of ‘spiritual organs’ – eyes and ears of our heart.

Knowing how profoundly He is concerned with our spiritual hearing, and knowing we humans would adopt the shape of a heart to indicate/refer to our spirit, in His wisdom, God gave us a pair of ears that curiously, when viewed side-by-side, resemble the shape of a heart! Imagine that. Moreover, with a bit of imagination, you might even perceive the rough outline of a face in the above picture.

My earlier New Year’s greeting to you was “Happy New ears”. (Not a typo, as it may seem.)  Happy New ears! As I pondered this concept during the year, it became clearer why such an emphasis is placed on our spiritual ears. This is, by far, the primary faculty by which Jesus communicates with His born again believers, and He expects us to develop a keen ability to ‘hear’ His voice at this level. Of course, He uses a variety of ‘means’ to communicate, namely His Word (The Bible), exposition, teachings, visions, etc., but all of His communication ‘means’ must boil down to, and depend upon what/how we ‘hear’ spiritually.

Moreover, He backs-up His expectation by applying the principles of faith to our ability to hear. For example, check out in John 10 the number of times Jesus released faith-filled words that express His inner vision for all future born again believers: “My sheep know, hear and follow My voice.” He knew our ability to obey is inextricably connected to our ability, first, to hear; hence the iterated focus across the pages of The Bible on spiritual hearing.

Consider this: The psalmists expressed an inordinate concern about their voices (prayers, cries, distress calls, etc.) being heard on High. Check out the number of times they referred to various versions of ‘my voice’. Jesus seems to turn the tables on such a focus, rather accentuating, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me” (John 11:41), and, “My sheep know, hear and follow My voice.” (John 10:2, 4, 14, 16, 27; and 18:37) wOw, what a change in perspective!

Hopefully, you joined me previously in asking for new ears, as encouraged in the above post. Now, my prayer and wish for you is to grow and proactively develop your spiritual ears. Let’s start by AGREEING and ALIGNING our faith with His faith-filled words in John 10. After all, as disciples, His Word is to be the final authority in our lives, irrespective of our circumstances or emotions/feelings, right?! Otherwise we are not His disciples.

Prayer:

Father God, by faith, I agree with My High Priest, 
Jesus Christ,

in saying, I know, I hear and, by Your merciful Grace,

 I follow/obey Your voice.

Reiterate this prayer or a similar confession, out loud as often as necessary, until, in your ‘heart of hearts’, you know-that-you-know-that-you-know... Why out loud? It’s simple: A spoken word trumps a thought -- any day of the week! Developing and activating your faith in this manner will revitalize your relationship with Christ, and revolutionize your life!

NB: Hebrews 3 and 4 thrice iterate the strong, direct connection between our spiritual ears and the condition of our heart, saying, “Today, if you will (wish to) hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…”

~Rich Blessings for a Great New Year~