"The Discipline of Hearing"

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops —Matthew 10:27

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into "the shadow of His hand" until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). "Whatever I tell you in the dark..." — pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood — darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.

After every time of darkness, we should experience a mixture of delight and humiliation. If there is only delight, I question whether we have really heard God at all. We should experience delight for having heard God speak, but mostly humiliation for having taken so long to hear Him! Then we will exclaim, "How slow I have been to listen and understand what God has been telling me!"  And yet God has been saying it for days and even weeks. But once you hear Him, He gives you the gift of humiliation, which brings a softness of heart — a gift that will always cause you to listen to God now.

~Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest

Ave Maria!  While reading today's gospel (Mt 10:24-33), I thought of the above reflection by Oswald Chambers.  I remembered what he said about song birds being taught to sing in the dark, so I looked it up in the copy of My Utmost for His Highest that my sister Annie had given me years ago.  Sure enough, there it was, "The Discipline of Hearing," the selection for February 14.  I had marked it well, especially these words:  "remain quiet...darkness is the time to listen...just listen and obey."  I'm in a bit of darkness right now with a painful bout of sciatica.  It's nothing serious and will eventually pass, but it sure does limit me and frustrate me.  I have places to go, people to see, things to do!!!  God, however, seems to have other plans for me at the moment.  Thus I beg Him for the grace to submit to this discipline of hearing, to remain quiet and listen, that I might receive His gift of humiliation to soften my heart, that I might learn to obey...

What though the darkness 'round me close

songs in the night it giveth.

"How Can I Keep From Singing"