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Letter from the Committee
Listening
Regardless of the season, we tend to see our busyness stay constant. Right now, many of us are transitioning from summer activities and vacations to the hustle and bustle of returning to school, work, and our normal patterns. In the chaos that sometimes is our lives, we must still take time to pause and listen. What are we listening for? We listen for the voice of our loving Creator as He speaks into our lives. Throughout the Bible, familiar characters adopted a variety of practices as they sought the direction of the Lord. Gideon laid out sheepskins to test God’s will, and lots were cast to determine Jonah’s fate. Receiving direction from God is an innate desire for many, but it is also a practiced discipline we must develop. Have you seen a pet dog stand at attention with ears perked, eagerly awaiting to respond to their owner’s voice? It takes practice and humility. We are called to surrender similarly!
John 10:14, 27: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me… My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we must orient our hearts to be receptive to the word of our Shepherd. Sometimes God comforts us, sometimes He challenges us. Our hope and call is to be open to whatever He tells us, surrendering to His perfect will. As Samuel said in 1 Samuel 3:10, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” May we be people who seek out, wait for, and listen to our heavenly Father. He is unfailingly faithful and WILL make Himself known.
God is not just limited to “expected” means of communication we as finite beings might sometimes wish for. When we listen, we must give God room to share His answer in His best way and time. As we nurture a practice of listening, we will find increasingly rich and tender relationship with the One who speaks.
Often, living in our fast-paced society, we put expectations on ourselves that God does not. Listening can be a restful exercise to help us re-center and focus on what God actually expects of us. Choosing to listen helps us rest in God’s presence. While it can be a challenge to develop distraction-free listening, we encourage you to take time to pause and listen to Jesus, meditating on His word in prayer. He loves us, guides us, comforts us, has mercy on us, and longs to speak into our lives. May we make room for Him to do exactly that, and so much more!
Your Stoa Alumni Committee,
Samuel Durand (AR), Grayson Harris (TN), Nicole Kaiser (MT), Alyssa Sloneker (AR), Denise Sprimont-Vasquez (VA), Elizabeth Stapleton (OK), and David Vasquez (VA)