I am sure you love being able to hear. The ability to hear music or the loving words of your wife or husband, children at play, the singing birds or any other sound that fills your life with joy. Not only do your ears allow you to hear, but they also allow you to listen. Instead of hearing what your wife said, you can really listen and feel deeply what she is communicating to you.  

As you are aware, the ear does more than just allow you to hear. The ear contains three fluid-filled, semi-circular canals. Two of these determine vertical body movement, such as falling or jumping, while the third determines horizontal movements like rotation. It becomes complicated to explain from here how it all works, but in short, hair cells bend in the semi-circular canals sending impulses to the brain. My point is that the balance of our body is a function found in the ear.  

Odd that God would put our balance mechanism in the ear. Then again, maybe there is a message here. There is no doubt, in my life, that balance is a product of listening. I don’t know how many people I have met in life that have heard something that wasn’t completely true, believed it, and ended up with a life completely out of balance. Years ago, a young family decided to take a great job in another city. They sat down with me and asked me what I thought. I suggested they do a thorough investigation of the company before disrupting their family. The husband did minimal research, due to being enchanted with the job and the money. They moved, and a couple of years later, he had to move again, this time, in with his parents who owned a large house — the company let him go. He told me that the devastation to his family was overwhelming, as it took a couple of years to recover and get back on their own. His confidence was destroyed and his wife was heart-broken. An inability to listen kicked an entire life out of balance and took years to bring back into balance.

Three Listening Values That Bring Balance

1.    Listen To Everything. Sometimes people say, “Get the facts” but facts are hard things to get in our hands. How does one know if he has all the facts he needs?  Better than getting all the facts, listen to both sides, the good and the bad, his and hers, this one and that one. Seek to see both points of view on any subject.
2.    Don’t Deny The Inner Objection. Often, a little voice will go off inside, that will remind us that we need something more to make the decision. Don’t quit looking for answers until you have satisfied that little voice inside. This should not make us suspicious about anything, but rather keep us seeking until we have satisfied our inner objection.
3.    Ask For God’s Help. Often, God helps us make decisions by bringing the essential information our way, so that our heart can agree with the decision He wants us to make. Often, we think God wants to boss us around, “… do this, do that, stop it…” However, all God seeks is to train us to make decisions that will agree with His wisdom. He does not merely want us to know how to act; He wants us to learn His ways.

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.  Psalms 103:7 NKJV
Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” Mark 4:24 NKJV