Opening our eyes and ears

Let anyone who has ears to hear listen. (Luke 8:8)

As I was reading this chapter, I couldn’t help but think of my pastor’s message yesterday talking about spiritual blindness. (Mark 8)

In Matthew’s gospel, he gives the longer quote of Isaiah (10) than Luke does, in which we see these words:

For this people’s heart has grown callous;
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;

otherwise they might see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and
understand with their hearts,
and turn back—
and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:15)

And I was thinking, are there ways I have allowed my heart to grow callous to God’s word? Are there words that used to touch me, are there words that used to sting me, that do so no longer because I did nothing about them?

Are there any things that have made my ears hard of hearing? Is there any pride dulling my ears because I think I already know it all?

Or is there so much noise coming from other things, Youtube, podcasts, etc., that I can’t hear what God is trying to say to me? 

Are there things that I have shut my eyes to in God’s word? I shut them because I don’t want to see them. I don’t want to see them because it would force me to change how I think or how I act, and I don’t want to change.

Is Jesus pleading with me, “Listen! Open your eyes! I want to heal you. I want to lead you. I have something better for you”?

Lord, by your grace, you have opened my eyes. Don’t let me close them. You’ve opened my ears to hear you. Don’t let me dull them.

You are good. Your word is good. So help me hold fast to it. Even when it’s hard to obey, help me to keep moving forward with you. I want to bear fruit for you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.