I was talking to a buddy of mine who was recently fired and he’s very bitter about it. He’s a fine person and absolutely loved his former position, and really tried his utmost to do a stellar job. I know his former boss too, and he is likewise a good guy and had identical goals to my buddy. So since they are both great guys with identical goals, why did their relationship head south and end up in disaster?
My buddy insists that he did everything he was told and the other guy, (his boss), said he didn’t. At the end of the day it seems to me to boil down to poor communication. When we don’t communicate, be it in our career, friendship, marriage, or whatever we can just about guarantee that things will not end well.
So what is effective communication? It is a two way street, we express ourselves, but we also listen.
If our communication skills are important in everyday life, how much more important are they in our walk with God? That’s a rhetorical question; they are vital to effective communication! So in a Godly relationship, we must do likewise; we should express ourselves, but we should also listen.
We express ourselves through prayer. Many folks innately pray, especially during times of difficulty and crises, but that is only half the equation; what about the other half? How can we listen to God? I don’t know many folks who claim to have heard God speak out loud to them, so if that is out the door, how does He communicate His desires and expectations
to us?
I’ve learned that God speaks to us through His word the Holy Bible. I’m amazed at how many people have never read the Bible and/or don’t go to it on a daily basis. It opens up the second necessary ingredient to effective communication that is vital to success, (listening). Remember the axiom of good communication is that it takes two ingredients, (we must express ourselves and we must listen), in order to be effective.
We use prayer to enumerate our fears, desires, problems, frustrations, or whatever; God provides His answers to those prayers and importantly details His expectations through His Holy Bible.
If you are struggling in life, take a look at your communication skills with God. Is it a one way street? Do you speak but not listen? The Bible is described as being “living and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword”. If you will read it you will hear God’s gentle voice calming your fears, telling you how to find your peace, joy, and love in this difficult world.
Read the Bible; use a modern translation; start in the New Testament with Romans and then back to Matthew and all of the way through Revelation. Take your time; listen to God as though He was sitting there having a conversation with you. Skim over the difficult parts for now but take your time on the stuff that leaps out at you.
Remember good communication means we speak and we listen. Combine Bible study with prayer and make you requests known to the Lord.
We don’t want to get fired by God . . . (Get it? Fired? Hell – fire – brimstone) . . . LOL . . . Okay a little corny – Please don’t write I don’t want to listen . . .
Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.