Incline your ear and come to me; listen so that you may live. Isaiah 55:3  

I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.  That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock. Luke 6:47-48  

Listen – that sounds simple. How hard can it be to listen to someone or listen to the words we are reading. With all the other sounds and activities going on around us, listening may not be so easy. Someone may be telling us a story and all we are doing is waiting for our turn to talk, maybe we are thinking about we will say rather than actually listening to the other person. We sit down to read a Bible passage and find our mind wandering to what we should fix for lunch rather than focusing on the words and what God is saying. With all the noise around us today, it can be very hard to really listen and hear the word of God.   

In Isaiah 55:2, one verse before our verse for today it says:  

Why spend money on that which is not bread,  

and your labor on that which does not satisfy? 

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, 

and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.  

Listen carefully – taking the time to really listen to God, to people around us, to really hear what is important in their lives. It is important to lean in to listen to discern what God’s plan is for us, to hear and act on our faith. We have God’s word. As Jesus says in Luke – hearing and acting on it is like building a house on rock. Doing proper foundation work, making sure the house is secure when it is built. The sermon for Memorial Day this past Sunday said we should Believe, Proclaim, and Act. In order to do that successfully we need to be still and listen, get a solid foundation, and then act. 

Thank you, Lord, for your living and life-changing word. Help us to listen and learn and act. Open our ears and give us an understanding to act on what you say. Jesus, you are our rock, you have given us the blueprints for faithful living. Help us to follow your plan for our lives. Guide us as we build our lives on the solid foundation of knowing, trusting, and following Jesus. Amen  

Chris Gabel