There’s an interesting story in Acts 13. Paul and Barnabas had gone to Cyprus to preach the gospel. On the island was a Roman governor named Sergius Paulus who seemed to want to hear what Paul and Barnabas were saying. But there was a false-prophet named Elymas who interfered and kept telling the governor not to listen. We read in Acts 13:8: “He was trying to keep the governor from believing.” Did you know that this is Satan’s #1 tool? Interfering by throwing all sorts of roadblocks that will keep us from listening to what God has to say.
Why does he do this? Well, you’ve heard the saying, “Seven days without Jesus makes one weak.” I’ll go so far to say that one day without Jesus makes us weak, vulnerable, and easy targets for the enemy. His goal is to always keep us from listening to God because when we listen to Him daily, our faith gets stronger, we gain a foothold over him, and we become wiser, able to see right from wrong. Our ears become more in tune with truth and we are able to recognize his lies much more.
These roadblocks can be people, busyness, unforeseen circumstances, hurt, or things like worry, fear, and pride. He knows our goal, our destiny. He knows that we want to bring glory to God in everything and the only way to do that is to listen to what He is saying. So, he will throw all sorts of roadblocks to hinder us. We must be adept at recognizing those roadblocks and get them out of our way.
Every morning, I get up before the sun and I spend at least an hour or two in the presence of God just listening. It’s just me and my Bible. I know that if I truly want to hear God speak, I must have my Bible with me. Sometimes, though, my schedule does not allow this time with God, like if I have an early flight or I’m not feeling well or if we are leaving really early for a road trip. But on those days, I always take some time to open God’s Word to listen. Not one day goes by that I seek out God. And if it does, it’s beyond my control.
Let me encourage you to always carve out time every day to listen to what God is saying. He has something to say to you. Get away with Him… just you, your Bible, and Jesus. Let me ask you… how valuable is your Bible? The other day, I posted a sweet story about my sister. I said that after my dad died, my mom gave my dad’s Bible to my sister. She recently told me that this is the Bible she uses and takes to church. She loves it when the pastor is talking about a specific passage and my dad had that passage underlined or highlighted. I called her to read to her my post. She said… “Everything you said is true. I must say that dad’s Bible is my most treasured possession. If my house was on fire, that Bible is the first thing I would grab.”
Another one of our Tribal members said the same thing. She has her mom’s Bible and she commented on my post and said that if her house was on fire, she would grab her purse and her mom’s Bible. Again, let me ask you… how valuable is your Bible to you? The reason why I ask is that is the #1-way God speaks to us. And Satan does not want us listening so he will throw all sorts of roadblocks to keep us from God. We mustn’t let anything (and I mean anything) keep us from listening. We need to be strong, wise, and fierce in these difficult days… days when Satan is moving at break-neck speed. Let me encourage you to listen today… listen tomorrow… and listen every day.