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Straining to hear

 

My ears are blocked! Everything sounds as if I am under water and I am straining to hear when people talk to me. I went out for lunch with a friend today and she kept leaning towards me when I talked. I asked if I was speaking too soft and she said I was. It’s a funny thing when you can’t really hear yourself talk so you don’t know how loud you are speaking.

It reminds me of my Christian walk. When I am disobeying God I strain to hear Him. It’s as if I am under water and His voice is muted and difficult to hear. Even when I try to talk to Him, he seems far away—as if he is having difficulty hearing me. Sin gets in the way of our relationship so I need to confess it quickly so I can hear His voice clearly.

With all my heart, I want to obey God. But every single day I find myself doing or saying something without thinking and then realising I have sinned. When I pray in the morning, I need to ask the Holy Spirit to help me think before I act or speak and to listen to Him. However, sometimes in the early morning rush my prayer is distracted and I forget to do this. I find that is when I am most likely to sin. Then I feel terrible! I so want to be His obedient child; I have the Holy Spirit to help me so why do I keep on sinning. The flesh is so strong and it is not always easy to have that self-control.

However, I have a merciful and forgiving God.

‘If I confess my sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness’ 1 John 1:9

How wonderful-he forgives us our sins; He purifies us (some versions say ‘cleanses us’) from all unrighteousness. Not only that, our sins are forgotten so completely, it’s as if they are at the bottom of the sea (Micah 7:19). There are other scriptures that comfort us when we feel so unworthy because of our sin. Psalm 103:12 tells us ‘as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.’ Isaiah 1:18 says ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;’

God loves us so much, that once we are justified through the blood of our Saviour, we can repent of our sins and ask His forgiveness. He gives His forgiveness willingly and chooses to remember our sins no more. Hallelujah.

So repent quickly, restore your relationship, and rest in the love of an amazing God who is quick to forgive and forget.

God bless you.

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