Amos 8:11: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, / “That I will send a famine on the land, / Not a famine of bread, / Nor a thirst for water, / But of hearing the words of the LORD.”

November 17th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

There was then, as there will be at the end of time, a famine of hearing the Bible, the Word of God. We might be tempted to think that since there are tens of thousands of books teaching about it and countless daily radio broadcasts about it that there certainly isn’t a famine of preaching and teaching today. But when we read this passage carefully, we notice that Amos doesn’t say a famine of preaching and teaching of the word but a famine of hearing and heeding the word.

The Bible is being taught, but most people refuse to listen and respond to its message. Listening, tuning into what a person is speaking to us, requires us to first choose to put away all that would divide our attention. We never learn anything if we are talking, but we can learn when we first listen quietly and then seek for answers to our questions. God’s voice is a still, quiet voice that never shouts or screams.

Broadway producer Jed Harris became convinced he was losing his hearing. He visited a specialist who pulled out a watch and asked, “Can you hear this ticking?” “Of course,” Harris replied. The specialist walked to the door and asked the question again. Harris listened and said, “Yes, I can hear it clearly.” The doctor walked into the next room and asked if Harris could hear the ticking from there. “Yes, I can still hear it,” Harris replied. “There is nothing wrong with your hearing, Mr. Harris,” the doctor said, “you just don’t listen.”

“LORD, we quiet ourselves before You this day. Word of God speak.”