Hearing what I see

As of right *now my left ear is clogged.  So much so that I cannot hear out of it.  This has happened to me many times before - it always does when I get off track with my eating.  Sounds weird, I know, but it's 100% true.

I read somewhere that ear-clogging can have a lot to do with your overall health and or diet.  I wish I could find the article so that I could share it with you, but it seems to have disappeared from the web.  But basically it said that when are bodies start eating the things that it's not used to (for me it's too much natural sugar), we'll have an excess of earwax that builds up and can cause ear clogging.  This happens to be true for me, and may not be the case for you.  Consult your doctor or healthcare provider if you have any questions.

If there's one thing I don't like, it's the inability to hear properly.  I find myself pleading with God to grant my hearing back; quickly so that I can get back to a "normal" life.  But more often that not, my hearing stays limited and I believe, for a reason.  How many times in your life has God taken away something and it's only after it's been taken away do you feel like He was trying to tell you something?  Well for me it's the same thing.  I'm trying to look at it this way:  with the absence of my hearing (even in one ear it's hard!), I can hear God better; I can see Him in a different way.  Does that make sense?  Let me try and explain.  Sometimes, even if you have 20-20 vision, you can be blind to God's teachings.  Even if you have the hearing of a fox, you can be deaf to God's commandments.  Sometimes those things must be taken away (for awhile or for life) in order for us to see or hear God and what He is trying to teach us.  There is a bonus to this as well (normally I am not this optimistic!), with the quietness around you, you can have a more intimate relationship with your Maker.

The word hear occurs 516 times throughout the Bible while the word listen only occurs 1 time!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. Isaiah 49:1

                                                                                      Listen:

A primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively to tell, etc.): -  X attentively, call (gather) together, X carefully, X certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, X diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear (-ken, tell), X indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim (-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, X surely, tell, understand, whosoever [heareth], witness.

to hear...with obedience...  That one phrase is enough to make me stop, think and ponder.

What about you?  Do you hear or listen when someone speaks?  What about when God speaks to us through His Word?  Do you stop, ponder, and really listen, or do you (and I find myself doing this) just go through the motions?

As I struggle with this whole "not-being-able-to-hear" bit, I can (and should) thank God for it because not only am I learning to be submissive during this period, but I am also hearing Him.



Blessings in Jehovah!
~Sarah
*My ear popped sometime during the day I was typing this out.