Listening for God
I’m not a father, but I know quite a few. I also know many mothers. It’s amazing the transformation that a couple goes through when they have children. It’s equally amazing how much chaos such a little package can bring to two people. But I’m not going to be addressing that issue.
One of the questions I often ask new parents is have they figured out their baby’s cries. For those of you who are not parents, let me explain this to you. Since baby’s cannot form sentences until about age 2, their vocabulary is limited to laughs and cries. That’s it. Laughs are easy: you know the baby is having fun. But cries is a whole other matter.
For a new parent, it’s incredibly frustrating to try to figure out what this tiny human wants from you. Is she hungry? Did she poo and need a change? Is she tired? Is she hot? Cold? WHAT IS IT?! TELL ME ALREADY!
I digress…
Parents eventually figure out which cry means what. It doesn’t come naturally. It’s by trial and error. And what most people do not realize is that faith is pretty much the same thing.
There are many Christians I know who are afraid to do the wrong thing. “What if that’s not God’s will?” or “What if I do something wrong?” The only way we learn how God speaks to us is by taking it in faith that God is guiding us. If we get it wrong, God is sovereign enough to still be in control. Learning to discern God’s voice among the millions of others is something that takes trial and effort. It does not come naturally.
But like many new parents, God is incredibly patient. He knows we won’t get it right the first time. Or the 100th time. But he knows our heart and desire is to do right by him. I truly believe it is better for a Christian to be wrong by doing something than a Christian who does nothing for fear of being wrong.
English philosopher Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Being frozen in fear, afraid to do something wrong, is precisely what it means to do nothing. For good men to succeed, they must be willing to take the risk, take the chance that they might fail.
It’s far better to have failed and gotten to know God better as a result, than do nothing and learn nothing from it.