4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Written by Megan Ourso
Have you ever watched a movie and an actor or their voice is so familiar, but you cannot put your finger on how you know them? You rack your brain, ask those you are with, then give in and Google it. And when you see the answer it is an AHA moment, and you kind of think to yourself, “I knew I knew you.”
I feel like we sometimes get this way with God. We think we hear Him, get confirmation that it is indeed Him, then we congratulate ourselves for being correct, and we move on with our day without actually sitting with what He said. Friends, when the Lord is speaking to us there is no moving on as if nothing has happened! Encountering the Lord brings a shift in atmosphere. Why do we move on so quickly?
Speaking from my own experience, I think one reason we move on so quickly and harden our hearts to the Lord’s Voice is because we are afraid of what He might ask of us. Sometimes He asks us to do hard things: the sacrifice He wants us to willingly make, the emotions He wants us to work through, the challenging conversation He wants us to have, the sinful habit He wants us to break. The Lord does ask things that feel impossible of His followers, but He never asks us to take on any of it alone. He is always with us.
Yes, sometimes when we hear the Father’s Voice He is asking us to do hard things, but more often than that He is speaking— even singing— love and blessing and delight over us. He is more concerned about building a foundation of relationship with us than He is about shaking the foundation of the world. He wants us to know His love and just how chosen we are, but we cannot do that if we do not know His Voice.
Whether we realize it or not, when we harden our hearts to the challenges and emotions, we also harden them to the love and blessings. We cannot numb one without numbing the other. We harden our hearts, knowingly or not, to that goodness just as much as the hard things.
“Oh, that today you would hear his voice!” His Voice is sweet, and He is exceedingly kind. The truth He speaks over us might be hard to believe or receive, but it is where we must stay rooted. Only then can we know when the Lord is calling us to seasons of new life.
How can I better listen to the voice of the Father? How can I be more intentional in remembering what He has told/asked of me? Now may be the time to practice times of silence or journaling.
Megan Ourso works as an appraiser in southeast Louisiana. She has always been fascinated by stories and is an avid reader and writer. She’s been told she “gives Padre Pio vibes,” and she’s still trying to figure out what that means.Follow Megan on Instagram.
Pray with today’s psalm.