The thing about hearing

The other day we were driving using the GPS. Soo told me- you're supposed to turn here. i was like i know, i heard it.
The problem was, i was in the right lane- and i was told to turn left. i thought it said right.
Does left sound like right? No. Then why did i think that?
i had already assumed which direction i was supposed to turn.

i hear what i want to hear.

We do this often. We miss-hear because we assume, because we're not really listening or listening to what we want to hear.
We do this particulary with the Bible.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God

For one thing, we miss things. We think we know what it says. We have heard the stories over and over again, that we begin to overlook things. We assume we know what it says, so we don't read that carefully. We begin to scan and skim the Scripture, instead of carefully observing.

There's so much to the Word. In the book Living by the Book, Howard Hendricks tells of his class he teaches where he asks his students to make 25 verses on one verse... then the next day 25 more... then 25 more.. and 25 more. The more you look at a passage, the more you can see... and i'm not talking interpretation - but observation


The 2nd problem is in interpretation. We often interpret the passage the way we want to. Sometimes because of something we heard before. Sometimes because we don't want to see what it really says.
We interpret based on our presuppositions.


Despite what the Bible says, we don't hear what God wants to say, because we're only listening to what we want to hear. And even when He is clear, we hear our own assumptions & own desires instead of what God says.

Let's be careful as we approach God's Word. Let's put aside our assumption & presuppositions and prejudices. Let's open our ears & open our eyes so we can see what God's Word says and hear what God speaks.


Lastly,  when we hear what it says, we need to do it- or it is worthless. When GPS tells us a direction to go, if we don't listen, don't follow - we don't get where we need to go. Same with the Bible, we need to not just hear, but listen & do. James 1:21 says do not be hearers merely, but doers.
Hear, Listen, Obey.