Blitzen and his famous ears

One of the things I like best about my dog, Blitzen, is his ears. While sometimes they stay in a floppy, carefree position, more often they sit perched atop his head like two radar waiting for a signal. He can twist and turn them in different directions, even leaving one angled forward while the other pans to the left or right.

When I open the door to let him in from the outside, even if he’s on the other side of the house, his sensitive ears have detected the sound long before I have a chance to call out his name, and within seconds he comes bounding to my side. I love the way he’s so attuned to me – it’s as if no matter what he’s doing he’s always listening and waiting for me to come calling. And when he knows I’m looking for him, he doesn’t miss a beat, but rather races to be near me and to discover what it is I want from him.

I can’t help but think that our relationship with God should be the same way. Psalm 123:2 puts it this way:

We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy,

just as servants keep their eyes on their master,

as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

Just like Blitzen is always watching and waiting on me, I want to be always watching and waiting on the Lord. I want to keep my eyes and ears focused on Him, so that if He wants to ask something of me that I’m prepared to receive it. If I take my eyes and ears off of Him for even a second, I could miss out on what it is He wants me to do for Him. And if I’m not prepared when He calls, if I’m too busy doing my own thing, then I’m not a very good servant.

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How attuned are you to the voice of God? When the Lord calls your name, do your ears perk up, eager to hear what He has to say? Or has the din of the world gotten so loud that you can no longer hear or respond to His still small voice?

If you’re like me, and you realize that your spiritual hearing and attentiveness could use improvement, please join me in this prayer:

Lord, help each of us who call on Your name to be attentive to You. Help us to fix our eyes upon You and to make our ears sensitive to even the slightest utterance from Your lips. Remind us that our greatest joy comes from waiting upon and serving You, not ourselves. Amen.