Thank you for listening
When I was growing up, whenever I’d leave the house, my mother would say, “Thank you for listening.” She was seeing me off with the expectation and prayer that wherever I was heading – work, school, to hang out with friends, or on an adventure – I would be listening for the guidance of my divine Father-Mother, God.
The Bible says, “The Lord shall guide thee continually” (Isaiah 58:11). And, “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). The nature of God, divine Love, is to guide, and our nature as children of God is to listen and to follow.
Human thinking may be well-intentioned; but disconnected from God, it is limited and subject to fear and ego. Spiritual consciousness – the true consciousness of all of us as God’s spiritual offspring – is connected to God and is inherently responsive to divine inspiration. When we listen spiritually and follow trustingly, our steps are purposeful and protected. This is because God, divine Mind, continuously communicates His goodness and purity throughout creation.
A friend once shared with me that he strives to practice listening to and following God even in the little things. Then, when bigger things come up, he is already in the practice of listening, yielding, and following.
While serving in the Marine Corps, I too sought to listen to God in the little things. Once, while I was on a mission, the thought came clearly to me, “Get up and move.” I was in the mind-set of listening, so it felt natural to follow this intuition. I moved, and the sergeant who was with me followed. As we sheltered in the new location, a series of mortars landed and exploded where we had been moments before, and we were both protected.
Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, wrote a poem called “‘Feed My Sheep,’” which begins, “Shepherd, show me how to go” (“Poems,” p. 14). Later it says, “I will listen for Thy voice.”
We can trust that God, our heavenly Shepherd, shows all of us how to go, and that we can listen and hear just what we need.
For an extended discussion on this topic, check out “Listen to God,” the Nov. 29, 2021, episode of the Sentinel Watch podcast on www.JSH-Online.com.
