A few days ago when Facebook greeted me with the question, “What’s on your mind?” my heart responded, “Hearing is on my mind – physical hearing and spiritual hearing.”

As we grow older it seems wise to have our physical hearing checked to ensure we’re hearing accurately whatever is audible. Occasionally, life itself can depend on our hearing, for example to help us escape an oncoming danger that is out of sight but not out of earshot. More generally as well, the quality of our relationships with others can depend on our being able to HEAR what they are ACTUALLY saying to us. (My emphasis there is to acknowledge the occasional need to ‘read between the lines’ and read the body language of speakers, in addition to hearing their oral message).

However, for those who believe in the God of the Bible and want to hear from Him, spiritual hearing is even more important than physical hearing and even more important than ‘sensing’ the underlying vibes of what others say. You know that God still speaks to His people, right? He didn’t shut up at the end of Revelation, and He still hasn’t decided to give us the silent treatment because of the ungodliness of mankind. Yes, sin abounds, but God’s grace and His desire to speak to us abounds even more. We believers need to ensure we are hearing God accurately, for the sake of our deepening relationship with Him, to respond appropriately to what He says, and often for the benefit of others – for example, when He just says, “Get up and pray” and you haven’t even heard YET what or who to pray for, but you sense it’s not yourself.

There are two specific things about spiritual hearing that I want to share. (1) In order to ensure we are hearing God accurately, we must listen carefully and be willing to keep listening. He often says something that to us may seem incomplete, but He requires a response to what He has said before He says anything else. When we hear and do (or just hear and ‘receive’) what He has already said (such as “Get up to pray”) then He adds the next part – which may be a further instruction (such as who or what to pray for), or even just a further revelation added to what we’ve attentively received.

(2) Since our own imaginations can be so fertile and self-serving, we should seek general confirmation of what we think God has said to us, from the whole counsel of His written word – the Bible. Then, because God knows all about the lenses through which individuals can read His word, and the heart conditions that can influence their interpretations, the Bible includes His advice to also seek wise human counsel and confirmation, especially in matters of corporate effect. (For quick examples see Prov. 11:14, 15:22 and Acts 15:6.)

We can judge the Godly wisdom of human counsellors from the fruit that we see in their lives – which implies they should have been around long enough for spiritual fruit-bearing (Matt. 7:17-18). By these indications we can judge the trustworthiness of their confirmation, or the discernment behind their disagreement with our own thoughts.  Furthermore, to avert us from simply choosing a counsellor whom we feel will agree with our viewpoint, God says in Prov. 11:14b, “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (NKJV), or “With many counsellors there is deliverance” (TLV), or “In an abundance of counsellors there is victory” (NASB). That is why the apostles Sha’ul / Paul and Barnabas took the advice of other brothers in the faith (Acts 15:2) to seek counsel in Jerusalem from the whole gathering of apostles and elders (Acts 15:3 ff.).

To tie this all together, let’s consider Yeshua’s words in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me.”

Why did Yeshua call us ‘sheep’ in this verse? Why not ‘lions’ or ‘eagles’, or some more impressive animal?  I’m not sure, but David used the same choice of words when he said in Psalm 100:3, “We are His (God’s) people and the sheep of His pasture.”

One writer explains, “Sheep have excellent hearing, and they depend on it to make up for their less-than-stellar vision.” (In contrast, lions and eagles have excellent vision, to which hearing is a secondary rather than their primary reliance. Also, God does not habitually speak to us from a visible form, so hearing Him is generally more critical than trying to ‘see’ Him.)  Continuing… “Sheep have a far greater range of hearing than us humans, which is a good thing for an animal subject to predators.” (The LORD knows, we humans can be sooo subject to spiritual predators.)  Back to the sheep… “They can even turn their ears (around) individually to be able to hone in on specific sounds.”  (https://www.hobbyfarms.com/understanding-sheep-sense/) 

Turning their ears around individually to hone in on specific sounds is their way of LISTENING VERY CAREFULLY. That enables them to hear the specific voice they are listening for, which is sometimes a ‘still small voice’. See 1 Kings 19:11-13 (KJV) where Elijah had to listen past the clamor of other sounds to await God’s voice.

It was no surprise to me when I read, in the same article cited above, “Keep in mind that loud and high-pitched noises are not welcome to sheep.” I imagine their ability to turn their ears around to hone in on a certain sound would also enable them to minimize distraction from competing sounds.

Another difference between sheep and animals like lions or eagles is their social behaviour. The Merck Vet Manual says, “Sheep display an intensely gregarious social instinct that allows them to bond closely to other sheep and preferentially to related flock members. Flock mentality movements protect individuals from predators.”

Finally, to underscore my point that God does want to say things to us, and to add that it’s a privilege for us to be able to hear Him, consider these verses:

Amos 3:7: “For the LORD YHVH will do nothing, unless He has revealed His counsel to His servants the prophets.” And Yeshua said to His disciples in John 15:15: “I am no longer calling you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. Now I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

I, Marcia EVANGELINE Walters Anderson, want to be counted among Yeshua’s friends – friends who are also His servants, friends who will listen keenly for His voice, friends who – being aware of their membership in His fold – will ensure that their hearing is not ‘off’ but in agreement with what the rest of the fold is corporately hearing. May God bless my words to your heart!

My last blog related our purchase of a bungalow in the country, highlighting God’s wonderful work in the relocation plan that Mike and I were pursuing. Here is a photo taken of me there, just after our offer on the house was accepted.

Part 1 of the story had promised a sequel which would relate God’s wonderful work in the sale of our Ottawa townhouse, so that we could move in the fall. Here comes the sequel; but first, let me just say this… One of my relatives used to tease me about my frequent use of the word wonderful – almost declaring too many things to be “wonderful.” That kind of orientation probably came from my Mom, who so often declared something to be “a miracle” that my Dad had made a similar tease. However, many will acknowledge that some of what folks may regard as very fortunate coincidences actually result from God orchestrating events. As William Cowper phrased it in his 1773 hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”

Merriam-Webster lists the primary meaning of the word ‘miracle’ as, “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs,” but it sometimes requires spiritually enhanced vision to recognize the involvement of the Divine hand. Without that spiritual perception, mankind can easily misplace or even misappropriate the credit for good fortune. Thankfully, I am one of the millions who readily discern and acknowledge Divine intervention in human affairs. So, when referring to God’s work as I purposefully do in writing, I often spell it as wonder-full, for He is indeed a God full of wonders, continually bestowing His blessings on us – whether blessings in disguise, immediately obvious blessings, blessings on the justified or even the unjustified (Matthew 5:45).

Mike and I had initiated our purchase at the end of July by faith in God’s leading, before our townhouse was sold to liquidate funds for closing the deal – in fact, even before doing a renovation we wished to complete prior to listing the house. With a lot of work that renovation was finished in a month, and by the end of August we had listed at an asking price advised by our astute real estate agent. The very first viewing brought in a good offer, which we accepted and the listing was changed to “conditionally sold.” Unfortunately for that prospective buyer, although she had been preapproved for a mortgage, that week the Bank of Canada raised interest rates which nullified her preapproval. Her agent said that new financing with a co-signer would be arranged in a few weeks if we could wait.

However, we were working with a particular timeline, wanting to move before a minor surgical procedure that was scheduled for me. I really wanted the physical stress of packing, moving and at least initial unpacking to be behind us before this procedure could hinder me. As well, we had a rate-hold commitment from our bank which would expire by mid-October, after which date we would become subject to the increasing interest rates. Finally, we had to keep an eye on the mid-November contractual closing date of our own purchase. Considering all of that, Mike and I agreed that we couldn’t await the uncertain outcome of this prospective buyer’s arrangements, so we had our agent put the house back on the market. That was just our reasoning; but very quickly God indicated that He was also working on a separate project of His own.

FLASH-BACK

At this point I need to ‘flash-back’ to some groundwork that (unknown to us) God had laid for His own plan. In 2020 Mike and I were walking on a neighboring avenue one day when we saw a beautiful garden and lawn display of signs about the love of God and encouraging faith in Him despite the covid pandemic. I took a couple of pictures of it and when we got home I wrote a note to the occupants of the home congratulating them on their bold public witnessing. I signed the note with my name and phone number, and the next day I dropped it into the mailbox of the home. Soon I received a call from the lady of the house, who turned out to be the artist behind the lawn display. Let’s just call her G. We began a telephone friendship and discovered what we had in common, including being seniors and Caribbean nationals; but she and I never met because her husband was strictly against in-person contact during the pandemic. However, when covid restrictions were lifted Mike had him over to our house a couple of times to do jobs related to his trade.

Now fast-forward to August 2022. With the house back on the market, we’d had two more showings before G called our house phone one night at about 8:00 and Mike answered. In a very distressed voice she apologized for the late call, saying it was about a very urgent matter. She told of her young relative who “desperately” needed to purchase a home with his wife, and asked if she could bring them over to see our place despite the late hour, (and – you probably guessed it – without the involvement of a real estate agent). Mike and I agreed to the visit and in a few minutes she was at the door with a young couple, the husband almost resembling one of our own sons. After brief pleasantries and a quick tour of the house, we all sat at the dining table and they shared about themselves.

Though married for just one year, the couple was seeking to purchase a home rather than continuing to pay escalating rent. Recently, they “had to” leave the premises they’d been renting, and were now living separately (he with his father and she with her parents) because they hadn’t found a home that they could buy. Reading between the lines of what was shared, we gathered there was more about their situation that drove G’s repetition of words like ‘desperate’ – but we couldn’t pry. All three visitors loved our house and G not only revealed her plan to help them to purchase it, but spoke as if it was a done deal. We insisted that our agent should manage any transaction to be made, as they seemed naïve to the complexity of the house purchasing process. I gently told G, “It’s not sold until it’s sold,” and we also said that showings would continue until we had a signed sale agreement. They left that night with the promise to contact our agent.

Working with a mortgage broker over the next couple of days, the husband (let’s call him ‘L’) phoned us directly a few times to update us on their progress in arranging financing. In a final afternoon call, L told us the maximum figure they were able to offer, and I was actually alarmed because it fell way below our asking price and the prices for which neighboring ‘comparables’ had recently been sold. Our agent was also taken aback, but the decision of whether to entertain the offer was ours. First, Mike calculated whether we could still meet our own purchase commitments if we accepted this low offer. The numbers seemed to work, but with nothing left over and no room for error. Then, we had to take the question to the LORD – should we, or shouldn’t we? With no time to lose, we promised the couple an answer by nightfall, and spent the rest of the afternoon in prayer together. On my knees, I felt the LORD was saying “Yes, go ahead,” but it was such a serious matter that I knew Mike would have to hear the same thing directly from God as well. By the time we compared our impressions, he also felt the LORD was saying “Go ahead with them,” and that He would provide for any shortfall. 

THANK GOD… but which one?

Although it still felt like a hard pill to swallow, Mike and I called L that evening and told him our decision, so that a sale agreement could be drawn up the next day. We told him about our prayers and explained the weightiness of our decision. He was sincerely overflowing with thanks to us and even made reference to God in his thanksgiving. Knowing the active Christianity of G and her influence in his life, I had assumed he was at least a nominal Christian, but on that call I was prompted to ask, “L, I’ve heard you referring to God. Are you a Christian?” To which he replied, “No, we’re …” (naming another religion).

You could have knocked me down with a feather!  This wasn’t a half-hearted, ‘not-yet’, or non-committal response. He had firmly self-identified with a religion notorious in certain countries for violently persecuting Jews and Christians in the name of their own god. Diplomacy took an instant back-seat to my Judeo-Christian loyalties, and for better or worse, the following rose up from my throat:

“Well, L, you’d better make sure not to give (the name of his god) any praise for this!  It was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ* – that we knelt before for a long time in this living room today, asking Him what to do with your offer. He is the One Who told us to let you have this house. This is a blessing from Him!” (*I used the popular alias for Yeshua the Messiah rather than His given Name, as L may not have known it.)

At the other end of the line, L chuckled. I’m not sure what that response meant, but I had said my piece. I repeated that ‘piece’ to his wife the next day – just in case he neglected to tell her. The rest I said silently to the God of Luke 5:4-6 and John 21:6:

“LORD, really??? You must be definitely throwing out a net for this particular couple.”

It had happened before in our lives that we vacated a home and the incoming occupants met the LORD there. Hence my testimony in TGIF: Thank God it’s Friday, at page 168: “Mike and I joked that we must have left the Holy Spirit there, for that father soon accepted Christ and joined the Church.”

After a couple of days Mike spoke with L again, precisely to tell him the conclusion that we had reached in our understanding of the matter. Mike chose these central words as the core of his message:

“L, God has a call on your life!” And we left it there, praying for L to ponder these things in his heart as God worked out His purposes.

The next few weeks were very trying for us – a test of our faith that we had heard God correctly – because the process was not smooth sailing at all. Deadlines were not met, paper-work revisions had to be done, extensions granted and frustrations overlooked – including that of missing our own ‘rate hold’ deadline with our bank; but still, God didn’t let us off the hook. Finally… finally… finally… we were able to sit with huge relief before our lawyer on a Tuesday and complete our side of the paperwork for the closing, expecting the purchasers to do the same with their lawyer that same week and on Friday collect the keys for our home, which would then be theirs. We moved to our country home the following day, Wednesday, but I had no time to clean the house for hand-over to the new occupants. So I returned on Thursday to do that, and invited L’s wife and G to meet me there so I could show them a few things that we thought would be helpful for them to know about the house.

While we chatted, G said to me, “You and Mike don’t even know what you’re really doing (in this matter). You’re saving lives!”

“Saving lives?” I asked immediately, “What do you mean, ‘saving lives’?”

At that, G recounted (with corroboration from L’s wife) that L’s father, with whom he’d been living, was psychologically unwell, and abusive in ways that were apparently permitted in his religion but were, in G’s view, life-threatening to those under his roof. So, not only would L be able to ‘escape’ that, but he would also have opportunity to help his siblings. 

Phew! I won’t repeat any more, but what a chilling story it was! Then I understood more of what God was after – not only saving souls, but as G put it, also saving physical lives. (Now, isn’t that what God is always after – rescuing people from perishing, to bring them into ‘abundant life’?  Read John 3:16 and John 10:10 for example.)

Finally, by the following Monday, L and his wife were able to move into the new house God had released to them. May its walls ‘talk’ of the praise, worship, prayers and Bible studies that took place there over the last five years, and may the trail of wonder-full provisions from their Almighty Creator indeed lead them to a saving knowledge of Himself. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED ALL ROUND

We had heard from G how much she had been praying for L and his siblings, so although he had no commitment to God (as yet), her prayers were certainly being answered! Just as importantly, God was weaving into His wonder-full handiwork the answers to specific prayers Mike and I had placed before Him as well.

Here are three more of those answers: (1) we were able to move five days before my minor operation, from which I recovered quickly. (2) When Mike and I missed our rate-hold deadline with our bank due to the delays we were constrained by God to accept, our prayer had morphed into, “LORD, please make the bank agree to extend the rate-hold for the few extra days.” After some negotiation, that’s exactly what they did. (3) We were able to move into our new home one full month ahead of the initially-scheduled closing date of our purchase, with the gracious consent of those sellers to bring the the closing date forward. That definitely could not have been taken for granted!

So here I am, three weeks in and finding time to write this testimony. When I had Mike review it this morning, we remembered there is even another part of God’s plan that was revealed to us in a surprise encounter during the last week before we left Ottawa, but that will have to wait for a final episode – Part 3 🙂