A Listening Ear

<p>How terrible does it feel when you try to reach out but no one is available or willing to listen to you? When you call up one friend and then another but none of them answer? How lonely do you feel when you try to speak up when you’re with your family or friends, but no one listens to you?</p><p>.</p><p>How good does it feel when you make a connection? When you call someone and they pick up right away, or when you bump into someone and they ask about your day? How special do you feel when conversations pause because others want to hear what’s on your mind?</p><p>.</p><p>It feels good to reach out and be heard. Any time you reach out to God, He is going to pay attention to you. You don’t have to worry about God being too busy for you. God is never caught up in all He has to do—He is infinite! He can always give you His undivided attention.</p><p>.</p><p>God loves you so much, and He created you to be in relationship with Him. Even though our sin separated us from God, He made the way for us to be restored in our relationship with Him. Through Jesus’s sanctifying work on the cross, God has provided forgiveness for our sins. If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you have full access to God. When you reach out to God, you can know that you will receive, not just a listening ear, but also empathy, because Jesus knows firsthand what it’s like to be human (Hebrews 4:14-16). He has felt the pain of being misunderstood, disregarded, and alone. He was willing to go through all that and more—because He loves you.</p><p>.</p><p>There might be times when you feel like no one is there for you or ready to listen, but God sees you in those times, and He always wants you to reach out to Him. • Emily Acker</p><p>.</p><p>• Can you think of a time when you felt truly heard by another person? What was that like? (Community was God’s idea! If you’re feeling alone, you can ask God to help you identify trusted Christians in your life who will listen to you, and who you can listen to in turn.) </p><p>.</p><p>• How might knowing that God