A Listening Ear

How terrible does it feel when you try to reach out but no one is available

or willing to listen to you? When you call up one friend and then another

but none of them answer? How lonely do you feel when you try to speak up

when you’re with your family or friends, but no one listens to you?

.

How good does it feel when you make a connection? When you call someone and

they pick up right away, or when you bump into someone and they ask about

your day? How special do you feel when conversations pause because others

want to hear what’s on your mind?

.

It feels good to reach out and be heard. Any time you reach out to God, He

is going to pay attention to you. You don’t have to worry about God being

too busy for you. God is never caught up in all He has to doHe is

infinite! He can always give you His undivided attention.

.

God loves you so much, and He created you to be in relationship with Him.

Even though our sin separated us from God, He made the way for us to be

restored in our relationship with Him. Through Jesus’s sanctifying work on

the cross, God has provided forgiveness for our sins. If you’ve put your

trust in Jesus, you have full access to God. When you reach out to God, you

can know that you will receive, not just a listening ear, but also empathy,

because Jesus knows firsthand what it’s like to be human (Hebrews 4:14-16).

He has felt the pain of being misunderstood, disregarded, and alone. He was

willing to go through all that and morebecause He loves you.

.

There might be times when you feel like no one is there for you or ready to

listen, but God sees you in those times, and He always wants you to reach

out to Him. Emily Acker

.

Can you think of a time when you felt truly heard by another person? What

was that like? (Community was God’s idea! If you’re feeling alone, you can

ask God to help you identify trusted Christians in your life who will

listen to you, and who you can listen to in turn.)

.

How might knowing that God hears usthat He really understands us and

cares about us, even before we say anythingmake it easier for us to reach

out to Him? (Psalm 139:4; Romans 8:26-27)

.

In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his

temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. Psalm 18:6

(NIV)

Read Verses:

Psalm 34:15-Psalm 34:18; Psalm 139:4; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 18:6