Psalm 119:125 I am your servant; give me discernment
    that I may understand your statutes.

Human beings being what they are, we need God’s help before we can even know what He’s saying to us. You can pour your heart out to your pet, and at the most, they will understand that you’re upset. Some pets are amazingly empathetic, but that doesn’t mean that they actually understand what you’re saying. Some dogs can acquire a vocabulary (heard, not spoken) of a few hundred words, but that is exceptional. The difference between us and God is far greater than that! Once again the Japanese here uses satori, enlightenment. In Buddhism, that’s seen as the end point, the goal, but in Biblical faith, it’s the start line! One very important point in this verse is that it starts with a commitment to obedience. We are God’s children, but we are also His servants, and the moment we forget that, we open ourselves up to all sorts of temptations. We need to have the commitment that however we feel, we’re going to obey God. We’re back to Jesus’ parable of the two men, one building his house on bedrock and the other building his house on sand, told in Matthew 7 and Luke 6. It’s just as James said: failing to follow through with what we hear from God is just deceiving ourselves. (James 1:22) When you think about it, it’s actually amazing that the infinite Creator of the universe would enable His creatures to hear and understand Him at all, but that’s just how God is. He is infinitely gracious and loving, but He does require response, commitment, from us. If we indeed commit ourselves to serve Him in all humility and gratitude, then He will enlighten our hearts to hear and understand Him more and more, and the end result will be glorious indeed.

This is something the Lord has been repeating to me ever since we got on this theme of Training Disciples. I indeed want to be Jesus’ disciple, so I’ve got to be committed to total obedience. It has come out repeatedly that I sometimes come across as angry, and that can, and does, hurt people deeply, driving them away from me and from this church. As my wife pointed out to me this morning, my increasing hearing issues contribute to that, when I fail to understand what’s being said to me. God’s not the only one I need to listen to accurately! I purchased some hearing aids, but have had some real issues getting used to them. I’ve got to try them again, not giving up but working with them so that I will be able to fit into society as an accurate representative of my loving Lord, and not just a grumpy old man.

Father, thank You for this clear Word. I ask for patience and skill in figuring out how to make the best use of those hearing aids. There are many issues, but none outweigh the need to relate to people as Your agent, without giving them a distorted picture of who You are and what You’re like. I have long said that hearing You was most important, but it’s important that I hear and respond accurately to the people around me as well. Thank You. Praise God!