0212 你有在听神吗？
求你和我们说话，我们必听；不要神和我们说话，恐怕我们死亡。《出埃及记 20:19》
我们不是有意识地和故意地违背神——我们只是不听祂的话。神已经赐下诫命给我们，但我们却没有留意，不是因为任性不服从，而是因为我们并不真正爱祂和尊重祂。「你们若爱我，就必遵守我的诫命。」（约翰福音 14:15）。一旦我们意识到自己一直表现出对神的不尊重，我们就会为忽视祂而感到羞耻和屈辱。
「你和我们说话，…不要神和我们说话…。」我们宁愿听神的仆人而不听祂，这表明我们对神的爱是多么的少。我们喜欢听个人的见证，但我们不要神亲自对我们说话。为什么我们如此惧怕神对我们说话？那是因为我们知道当神说话时，我们要不然就必须照祂的要求去做，要不然就告诉祂我们不会服从。但如果仅仅是神的一位仆人对我们说话，我们就会觉得服从是可选择的，而不是必须服从命令的。我们回应说：「嗯，这只是你自己的想法，即使我不否认你所说的可能是神的真理。」
我是否不断地借着忽视神而羞辱祂，然而祂却继续慈爱地对待我如祂的孩子？一旦我最终听到祂的声音，我累积在祂身上的羞辱又回到了我身上。然后我的回答就变成：「主啊，为什么我如此麻木不仁和固执呢？」当我们听到神时，结果总是这样。但我们最终听到祂的真正喜悦，却被我们因花了这么长时间才听祂而感到的羞愧冲淡了。
来自章伯斯的智慧
0101， 0128
对那些没有经历过痛苦的人，耶稣说：「我没有什么可以给你的；站稳自己的脚，挺起自己的肩膀（挺身而立）。我是为那些知道自己所面对的，远超出他能应付的，那些知道他无法触碰某些势力的人；若他让我来，我会为他做一切的事。只要让一个人承认他有需要，我就会为他做。」《痛苦的阴影》。
0212 Are You Listening to God?
They said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” —Exodus 20:19
We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.
“You speak with us…but let not God speak with us….” We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, “Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth.”
Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, “Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?” This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
To those who have had no agony Jesus says, “I have nothing for you; stand on your own feet, square your own shoulders. I have come for the man who knows he has a bigger handful than he can cope with, who knows there are forces he cannot touch; I will do everything for him if he will let Me. Only let a man grant he needs it, and I will do it for him.” –The Shadow of an Agony, 1166 R