Ssh! Did You Hear That?
“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. ”
I believe the last sentence in verse two has to be one of the most comforting and yet convicting statements of all time. And the Lord heard it. For Moses, this was a comfort. Such was not the case, however, for Miriam and Aaron. God heard what was being said about his faithful servant, and He wasn't pleased. In fact, he punished Miriam and Aaron for their disrespect toward Moses and basically told them that they needed to shut their mouths because they didn't know what they were talking about.
I think it all boiled down to jealousy. Notice the envy in their question, "Is God only speaking through you? What about us? Aren't we just as important?" With attitudes like that, no, you're not! The Bible tells us that Moses was meek. To my knowledge, that term is never associated with either Miriam or Aaron. But that's another story for another time.
For today, let's focus on the fact that God hears. He hears each broken heart, each desperate plea, each mournful sigh and each falling tear. And in that respect, it's such a comfort to know that He hears. What a blessing to comprehend that He hears our unspoken prayers, those disjointed sentences that we simply can't seem to piece together. He hears the words that hurt too much to utter. He hears and understands it all. What a joy!
On the other hand, He does hear and understand ALL. That means He hears our complaints and groanings. He hears our accusations and hurtful words. He hears our sarcasm and cynicism. He hears our gossip and ridicule. And the scariest part of all is that we don't even have to say it for Him to hear it. We need only think it, and He hears.
How can something be such a blessing and such a curse all at the same time. Well, truth be told, it needn't be a curse. We need only take a lesson from Moses and adopt an attitude of meekness. The word "meekness" means quiet strength, humility, submission, obedience. Isn't that what we're supposed to be anyway? Humble, submitted to God and His will. When we are, we will have no fear of what God may be hearing from us, for it will all be good. Even our falling tears make a joyful sound when they're accompanied by the proper attitude.
As you go about your day today, I implore you to think about what God may be hearing from you. Does He hear praise and worship or pity and complaints? Does He hear good things or bad? And remember, He can even hear what is unsaid, so keep an eye on your thoughts as well. After all, if we're thinking about it, it won't be long before those thoughts find an outlet.
God is always listening. What kind of sounds are coming from you?