Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Daniel 8:8, “Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.”

Background

Have you ever seen any of the Charlie Brown cartoons on television? If you have, you’ll remember that adults are generally not shown, and when they speak, their voice is not understandable. All we would hear was sort of a nonsensical “mwa mwa mwa, mwa mwa mwa,” yet somehow the characters in the show knew exactly what was being said. Apparently a trombone was used to create the sounds, and it’s quite possible they were used to create an image of what adult voices can tend to sound like to little children. Although we hear ourselves very clearly, what is making it into the heads of our little ones is often something completely different. And I wonder if we struggle with the same “disability” towards God as kids do towards parents. It’s very possible that everything you have been hearing lately from God has sounded like talk about goats and large horns being replaced by other horns and the winds of heaven. In other words, “mwa mwa mwa.”

Application

Now, scholars can dissect the text of the ancient prophets, and with several thousand years of perspective, they can explain to us what the goats and the horns represent. But we don’t have thousands of years to try and figure out what God is saying to us, do we? We are living our lives today and in desperate need of God’s wisdom and peace. So what do we do when we’re waiting on God and all we’re getting is goats and horns? How do you respond when the answers sound like “mwa mwa mwa?” Do you give up on the messenger and go it on your own? Do you feel like you don’t have the time to wait, and so you make the best of what you’ve got? Or can you seek Him again, with the heart and faith of a child? Can you get to where He is so that the trombone sounds and the goat horns begin to make sense to you? If you can, if you can turn away from what sounds so clear and meaningful from the world, and rely on the foolishness of God, then you will be able to hear the words He has for you. You will finally have ears to hear.

Charge

As you seek Him today, listen to Him with the faith of a child. Ask God to give you the ears to hear what He is saying instead of asking for a different message.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words