Hey guys, you know that situation, somebody comes
to you and they ask for help, but all they do
is yammer the whole time. So you're sitting there
like, yeah, but, and they don't let you get a
word in edgewise. They don't let you say anything
that's actually going to help them. They don't
listen for it, right? It's like you might start
to get a little something in, but then you get
cut off, right? They're just yammering away.
Frustrating. It's very frustrating. But what
about when it's you? What about when it's you?
And we've all been that person. If we're honest
with ourselves, we've all been that person at
some point. Some of us a little bit more than
others. It's very frustrating. Let's open our
Bibles and let's open up to Mark chapter 4. Mark
chapter 4. And we're going to look specifically
at verse 39. So Mark 4, verse 39, the word says,
He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the
waves, Quiet! Be still! And the wind died down,
and it was completely calm. So here, we have
the disciples, and there's a storm raging around,
and they are freaking out, man. Oh, we're going
to die! They're just freaking out. They're all
over the place. And they're not realizing, you
know, if Jesus is being gone, so should we. It's
like, no, it's like, dude, come on. What's going
on? They're going to die. And they're just losing
it. And we're the same way. We run into trouble,
something that we need help with, we go and we
ask for help. And we can start yamming away.
You know, we don't get people that way. They
start to say something, And we're not hearing
the whole thing. We're catching part of it. Oh,
yeah, but. And then we start putting requirements
for the help that they're giving. Oh, but you
need to do this. Or you need to do that. Or you're
going to need this to do it. And I have this,
but we need something bigger. So you're going
to have to go and get this. Right? And there's
all this stuff. And they're panicked. They're
caught up in a storm. You're caught up in a storm.
So am I. It happens to all of us. And Jesus,
he lets it go down to a point, and finally he
gets up and goes, shush! God does the same thing
with us. Eventually it gets to a point. It's
like, dude, enough! Enough is enough, it's time
for a change. Stop! Alto. Right? And he tells
us to listen. See, that's the problem, is we
don't listen. to hear. We listen to respond.
We have key phrases, key words, and then boom!
We're on the attack ourselves. We need to follow
the example set by the prophet Habakkuk. If you
go to Habakkuk chapter 1, the whole thing, he's
sitting there and he's unloading his burden,
his stress. Right? Things are getting deep. The
Bible tells us, Judah's fallen into sin, there's
corruption all over the place, like they've really
messed up. And then God, he's had enough, so
he's sending the Babylonians in to come and deal
with them. A reckoning has come, it's time to
pay the piper. And Habakkuk, he's sitting there,
he's like, whoa. He knows what's coming, he's
like, whoa, Lord, I know we messed up. We got
sin. We got corruption. We got things going on
that shouldn't be. Things that go against what
you told us to do. But really? You're going to
send these animals? These guys are worse than
us. They're the worst. Do you not realize what's
going to happen to us? God knows. He's doing
it for a reason. There's a lesson to be learned
here. Punishment needs to be dealt out. I shouldn't
say punishment. Justice. Justice needs to be
dealt. And that's what's happening. So that's
what's going on. So he voices his concerns. Oh,
this is going to be bad. This is going to be
painful. And he unbinds that. And when he's done,
as we go into chapter 2, listen to this. This
is Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 1. This is what
he says. I will stand my watch and set myself
on the rampart and watch to see What he will
say to me and what I will answer when I am corrected.
Because we need to be corrected. It's part of
why we're in the situation we're dealing with
at the time. We need to stop listening to respond
and start listening to hear. And the problem
is, when we're so focused on this, and we're
busy yawning and saying, this is what you're
doing. This is what you need to do. We lose sight
of the big picture. We lose sight of Jesus and
what He has in store for us. What He can do to
help us. We're too busy talking and panicking
and freaking out on the storm to hear What God's
trying to tell us. Because you have to remember,
God speaks to us usually in a very gentle voice.
It's a very gentle way. He doesn't yell at us
typically. He doesn't want to bark at us. He
just wants to talk. People are more apt to listen
when you talk calmly anyway. Right? And that's
what we need to do. We need to follow this example.
It's like, yeah, go unburden yourself. Voice
your fears. Voice your concerns. Voice your frustrations.
But instead of saying, hey, this is how we fix
it, put yourself on the rampart. Close your mouth
and open your ears. Start listening. Listen to
what the Lord has for you. And you'll get the
answer that you're so desperately in search of.
Isaiah 21, verse 8, paints a similar image. It
says, A lion, my Lord. I stand continually on
the watchtower in the daytime. I have set my
post every night. The Babylonians worship themselves
and other idols. We're the same because we get
caught up listening to our own voice, our own
nonsense, our own pride. It gets in the way,
and it blocks everything out. Ultimately, it
takes us down. It takes us down. We need to learn
patience again. We need to learn how to speak
to God again. And open up that communication.
Because every relationship needs communication
or it will fail. But we need to get out of our
own way. We need to get out of God's way. And
listen to what he has to say for us. He'll answer
your prayer if you're quiet long enough and you're
paying attention and watching. You just have
to learn how to be still.