Oh, that my people would listen to me! Psalm 81:13a NLT
They sat at my table together. Mom and her teenage son were experiencing a troubling amount of tension and distance, so she wanted to discuss their communication difficulties. Communicating about communication difficulties is a difficulty in itself. Perhaps you know that. She began the conversation and basically monologued for 7-8 minutes. He offered nothing, with his face averted and a far-off look. I interrupted. “Why don’t you ask him a pertinent question and give him space to respond?”
She thought for a moment and then asked, “Why don’t you listen to me?” He stared at her and then looked away. After a moment of silence, she began listing reasons. “You’re too busy. You think I’m dumb. You think I’m too old. You wish you had another family. You think I don’t have anything important to say. You think I don’t love you.” All of these elicited weary sighs and eyerolls.
Then she said, “You don’t love me.”
Now there was a big response. With wide eyes and frustration her son erupted. “What? Are you serious? Of course, I love you!”
With tears his mother asked, “Then why?”
He answered simply and quietly, looking her in her spilling over eyes, “I guess I just don’t want to.” Finally. Now we were getting somewhere. If there’s not communication, mutual listening between two parties who love each other, there’s generally a gap in the “want-to” somewhere. We made great progress as we focused on why he didn’t want to listen to his mother.
If there’s not much communication between you and God, perhaps it’s time for you to ask the question, “Why am I not listening? Why am I am not hearing from God? Perhaps your “want-to” has taken a backseat in your life. What’s in the way of you hearing from and intimately communicating with the most significant, powerful, and loving One in your life?
Finding out why you put off and ignore this unspeakable privilege and then addressing it may open the most wonderful season of your life and journey so far.
- If you are not finding time, energy, and space to talk and listen to God, don’t excuse it. Honestly address your heart. We always find time to do what we really want to do most.