Listen to God’s Voice and Follow Him

Listen to God’s Voice and Follow Him

Make this the best Lent ever. God the Father tells us, “Jesus is his beloved Son and we should listen to him.” This is exactly what we should do “listen to him.”

Listening to Christ means getting to know him and following his lead. When parents instruct their children to listen, they want the children to hear and to heed what they are saying. God the Father does the same thing with us. Jesus Christ is God’s own Son, sent by the Father to be our guide to fulfillment and to be the meaning and happiness we all long for.

Christ alone is the answer, the secret to a life lived to the fullest. He is not just one great philosopher in history’s Hall of Fame. He is not just a wise teacher, like Confucius or Buddha. He is the fulfillment of the long history of salvation that God traced throughout the Old Testament.

All we need to do is “listen to him,” turn our gaze to him, follow him, and we will be transformed. Even if we can’t hear his exact words, most of us can probably feel what Jesus is asking of us right now. He is always speaking to our hearts and inviting us to follow him more closely. We cannot remain stationary when listening to Jesus.

Maybe he is asking some of us to come to him in the sacrament of Confession so that he can help us break down a sinful habit that is holding us back from spiritual maturity. Maybe he is asking us to reconcile with a friend or family member we haven’t spoken to in years and forgive them. Maybe he is asking us to start living more for others and less for ourselves. Maybe he is asking us to make a firm commitment to come to him in prayer for 15 minutes every day to pray a rosary. Maybe he is even calling some of us to leave everything behind and follow him in the priesthood or the consecrated life.

When we hear God’s voice inviting us to make a change, we are almost always torn – one part of us wants to say yes, but another part of us is fearful. The closeness of God, even his voice in our hearts, is awe-inspiring. When we hear him calling us, we can be “very much afraid.” But Jesus is well aware of this. In these moments of fear, He comes to us saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”

When Jesus taps us on the shoulder, let’s say to him in response: “OK, Lord. I believe in you. I want to listen to you. Thy will be done, Lord, thy Kingdom come.” We can respond with a profound yes in spite of fears. It’s never too late to follow him.

In Christ,

Fr. Scott Emerson
Parochial Administrator