I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. Isaiah 45:3, NIV

 

Selective hearing, the brain's ability to focus on a specific sound or speaker, while ignoring other sounds in a noisy environment, is seen at its best when we practise listening to God above the noise of the world, and at its worst, when we ignore his voice as we tune in to something else. His constant call to his people was, and still is, “Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God.” (Jeremiah 11:4b, ESV)

 

It’s as necessary as knowing how to listen in other important relationships in our lives; and the key to recognising the “hidden treasures” that God reveals. God follows the instruction with a promise that reveals his heart: “that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day ... ” (Jeremiah 11:5, ESV)

 

Listening to what God is saying to us – and obeying – already brings the reward of recognising his voice in our inner being; but to understand the importance of his words will unlock the vault to the "hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places,” that our verse today speaks of. And the treasure that God gives is nothing that the world can match.

 

It was this verse that gave Katherine Wolf, a young woman who died five times during a sixteen-hour operation, her hope back in the months after coming through it; she held onto God's promises – claiming each treasure – and redefined her life.

 

God had worked miraculously through the medical team as they revived her again and again to bring her through alive, but over the arduous years that followed, he worked just as miraculously in her psychological “knitting together” but this time with her, as she has embraced Scripture verses to redefine her life in the most remarkable way.

 

Some people may speak of the Bible as “boring” or “irrelevant” when, in fact, they have never dug deep, or listened for God’s voice, or found the treasures contained in them; but Katherine, who has, is living proof of how God has transformed her, in spite of many obstacles, and has enriched her life.

 

Jesus, as the true vine, (John 15:1) calls us to remain in him and promises that those who do will bear much fruit. (John 15:5) When we listen to God, the Holy Spirit grows beautiful fruit in our lives – treasures revealed in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control”, (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV) as we thrive in his love and grace.

 

God’s words give life to the listening ear and the heart that beats with his as they walk together.

 

Prayer: Gracious Father, give me a listening ear to hear your voice wherever I am and a heart that always searches for the treasures in your Word. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen