I was surprised to see him awake. Yet, there he was sitting upright in his bed as quiet as the dawn. Like me at his age, Jonathan could happily sleep in to 10 am in the summer. But something had awakened him.

Before speaking, I studied him to see if I could find an answer without asking a question. His body was relaxed, not tense: fear had not startled him. His hands were empty, not full: productivity had not summoned him. No, he sat peacefully alert with his head between the open window screen and shade.

“Jonathan?” I whispered, “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” he replied happily, “I heard a bird that I had never heard before.” And with that, he listened a little while longer, slipped his head out of his screen-and-shade sandwich, smiled, and returned to his pillow.

I was left in the silence with anticipation. I listened for the bird he had never heard before. His attentiveness inspired mine. Then my eyes moistened: Jonathan possessed the strength to hear, even while sleeping.

We more often think of the strength to speak than the strength to listen. Skilled speakers are credited with strength, while skilled listeners are considered kind.

But hearing our own voice is far less strenuous than hearing something outside of ourselves.

Discerning new sounds within the external (and internal) jungle of old noises is strength indeed. It fuses being present with attentiveness and a spirit of adventure.

What might we hear if we considered listening a strength? What might we discover if we believed the world was filled with wonderful new sounds? What might we discern if our spirits were sensitive enough to be awakened from sleep to hear God’s appointed tutors, the birds?

And, to continue our discussion of redefining strength generationally, what would be the fruit of being raised by a village of elders who truly had ears to hear what the Spirit was saying in the Word, through creation, in dreams, and by His Spirit?

For Further Study: In Mark 4:23-25 Jesus said,

^“If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

It would seem from Jesus’ teaching that listening is a high-yielding investment. Conversely, not listening seems to lead to spiritual bankruptcy.

What are you hearing currently? With your ears? In your spirit?

Not all can hear physically, but Jesus in this passage speaks of a form of listening that is made strong by spiritual attentiveness, not by physical equipment.

Spend time today pausing to hear. Make note of any new sounds. Savor them and thank God for the strength to listen.