Am I listening?
My buddy and I were sitting by the community pool watching our sons swim when he tells me the craziest story about a work situation. Short version: He was going to record an interaction with a boss who’d been giving him fits. So he hits “record,” walks through an empty hallway, walks by the boss’ office, has a quick and harmless interaction, and heads out to his car — recording wasn’t necessary. Where the story went from ho-hum to hair-on-your-neck-stands-up is on the recording. Before he deleted it in the car, he listened to the recording quickly. In the audio, just before he walks in the boss’ office, what is clearly a male voice on the recording says, “Do not go in there.” He played it for me by the pool, told me it creeped him out, asked me if I heard the voice (which I clearly did), and asked me what it was (he wanted my “pastoral opinion”, thoughts from a preacher to a guy who isn’t really religious and would not call himself a follower of Christ).
I am not writing an article on the supernatural. Buy me a coffee sometime, and I’d love to swap stories and thoughts on the topic! The detail of the story I find fascinating is this: My buddy heard the voice on the recording but did not hear it in the moment in the empty hallway. On the recording, a male voice gives a warning that my friend did not hear in real time. Odd? You bet. Spooky? Depends on your theology. Instructive? Absolutely.
In less supernatural ways, God is constantly giving us all nudges, encouragements, and even warnings. The question isn’t, “Is he speaking?” The question is, “Am I listening?” I’ve wondered with my buddy whether fear or anger or hurriedness caused him not to hear what was clearly audible on a recording. Similarly, in my life, I wonder if sometimes — or even often — God’s Spirit is speaking and I am not hearing. Life and ministry can busy us, weary us, and even beat us up. Just during COVID alone, as we’ve hurried to adjust, strategize, implement and wait, adjust again, speak truth, pivot, reimagine, and then adjust again, our batteries have perhaps been depleted and our senses even tired — including our ears for hearing what God is saying. So the recording reminds me to ask, “Am I listening?”
But its second encouragement is equally important. When I am afraid, angry, tired, or hurried, who in my life might hear the warnings or encouragements from God I may miss? I heard the voice on my friend’s recording — the one he missed in real time — and tried to help talk through what it was and how God may be trying to get his attention. In the same way, my wife Natalie, along with godly men in my life, will sometimes hear or see what I cannot or do not and will help me better understand what is going on and how God is trying to get my attention. The recording reminds me to ask, “When I miss the signals, who are the trustworthy voices that would be godly enough to hear them and loving enough to speak that truth into my life?” I need more time with these friends. And I need to regularly thank these people and ask them, “Do you hear anything I am not hearing?”
Yesterday, a good friend and I were in the car chatting and he admonished me, “JD, I see something in your life that I believe you don’t see, and I think I need to tell you…” It was so life-giving. While it wasn’t as spooky as my friend’s cell phone recording of a warning, it felt just as supernatural — God breathing life through the words of a friend, sharing something I was not seeing and hearing.
Keep listening. The moment we stop listening, we open ourselves up to be walking by sight and not by faith.
Keep leaning on trusted voices who hear and see what you may be missing. Spend time with them, prioritize relationship with them, and thank them for being a gift in your life.
And if you can explain that voice to me, give me a call — we can swap stories and tell one another we are nuts.
JD Mangrum is the church planting pastor of Christ Church Charlestown in Charlestown, MA.
