0212 你有在聽神嗎？
求你和我們說話，我們必聽；不要神和我們說話，恐怕我們死亡。《出埃及記 20:19》
我們不是有意識地和故意地違背神——我們只是不聽祂的話。神已經賜下誡命給我們，但我們卻沒有留意，不是因為任性不服從，而是因為我們並不真正愛祂和尊重祂。「你們若愛我，就必遵守我的誡命。」（約翰福音 14:15）。一旦我們意識到自己一直表現出對神的不尊重，我們就會為忽視祂而感到羞恥和屈辱。
「你和我們說話，…不要神和我們說話…。」我們寧願聽神的僕人而不聽祂，這表明我們對神的愛是多麼的少。我們喜歡聽個人的見證，但我們不要神親自對我們說話。為什麼我們如此懼怕神對我們說話？那是因為我們知道當神說話時，我們要不然就必須照祂的要求去做，要不然就告訴祂我們不會服從。但如果僅僅是神的一位僕人對我們說話，我們就會覺得服從是可選擇的，而不是必須服從命令的。我們回應說：「嗯，這只是你自己的想法，即使我不否認你所說的可能是神的真理。」
我是否不斷地藉著忽視神而羞辱祂，然而祂卻繼續慈愛地對待我如祂的孩子？一旦我最終聽到祂的聲音，我累積在祂身上的羞辱又回到了我身上。然後我的回答就變成：「主啊，為什麼我如此麻木不仁和固執呢？」當我們聽到神時，結果總是這樣。但我們最終聽到祂的真正喜悅，卻被我們因花了這麼長時間才聽祂而感到的羞愧沖淡了。
來自章伯斯的智慧
0101， 0128
對那些沒有經歷過痛苦的人，耶穌說：「我沒有什麼可以給你的；站穩自己的腳，挺起自己的肩膀（挺身而立）。我是為那些知道自己所面對的，遠超出他能應付的，那些知道他無法觸碰某些勢力的人；若他讓我來，我會為他做一切的事。只要讓一個人承認他有需要，我就會為他做。」《痛苦的陰影》。
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