5 Things To Do When You Just Don’t Want to Hear It by Kim Anthony

It was a Saturday morning. The sun was shining and the weather forecasters had predicted a beautiful day ahead. I had the weekend off for the first time in months. There were no deadlines looming or stressors tugging on my thoughts. It was going to be a “do whatever you want to do” kind of day and I was excited about it. 

Delicious food has always been something I enjoy. I mean really enjoy. It’s not uncommon for me to unconsciously wiggle and hum while eating something that makes my taste buds tingle and joy permeate my whole being. I think I was a foodie before being a foodie was a thing.

On this particularly perfect Saturday, I decided to treat myself to one of my favorite breakfast baked goods at a local restaurant. There is a savory pastry that I get for special guests when they come to town, but rarely do I splurge and get it just for myself. But today, was my day and I was going to indulge.

I had purposely slept in, but still had an hour left to purchase my item before they stopped serving breakfast. The plan was to stop by the restaurant, order my food to-go, then sit in a beautiful park in uninterrupted solitude while I satisfied my soul. Can you picture it? I could.

While waiting in line to order I realized that the man in front of me was ordering the same item I had in mind. Wait. What did the server say? Nope. I don’t think I heard that correctly, is how the conversation went in my head. I stepped up to place my order only to find out that I did hear what I thought I heard.

The person in front of me had order the last one. They were all out and would not be baking any more that day. Happy feeling gone. That was not what I wanted to hear. I had no alternative than to walk away empty handed or order a subpar substitute. Disappointed and empty handed, I walked.

Have you ever been told something you didn’t want to hear?

My little example was pretty light compared to the difficult things people are told every day; life changing, career ending, wish I didn’t get up out of bed type of things that leave you distracted or discouraged.

In Matthew 16, Jesus was having a conversation with His disciples about who people said He was and even more important, He wanted to know who the disciples thought He was. Peter acknowledged Him as the Christ, and Jesus “strictly charged the disciples to tell no one…” (Matt. 16:20). After confirming that Jesus was indeed the Savior of the world, it would seem that a bit of celebration would follow and perhaps the grand revealing of God’s plan and how Jesus would go about saving the world. You know, the good stuff. The happy and exciting stuff. But no. Scripture goes on to tell us in verse 21, how Jesus began to reveal how He would suffer, be killed, and resurrect on the third day.

These outcomes didn’t match what one would perceive the destiny of the Chosen One would be. And Peter wasn’t having it. Peter rebuked him, denying that these things would ever occur (Matt. 16: 22). It was not what Peter wanted to hear. In fact, it was the very opposite.

Sometimes the Lord will tell us something we don’t want to hear, but because it doesn’t line up with our own plans, we, like Peter, deny its truth or defiantly try to make sure it won’t happen. Whether we like what God is saying or not, it’s important to listen to His every word like our life depends on it… because it does.

Since we do not have the privilege of conversing with God in the flesh like the disciples did, we must be more intentional about listening to God and regularly come away from the noise that so easily distracts us. The ways He speaks to us include: through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, teachers, circumstances, wise godly counsel, and even through His creation. God is always telling us something that we need and He wants us to hear. It’s a matter of whether or not we are listening. When we do listen, we will come to realize just how much the Lord loves us, cares about everything that concerns us, and is with us as we do life, on the daily.

I realized this during one of my quiet times with the Lord. As I prayed and read through Scripture, I began sensing that my mother’s time on this earth was limited. The thought didn’t make sense because my mother, at that time, had been cancer-free for two years. I had recently spent time with her and she looked fantastic and was full of energy. I journaled what I believed God was telling me, then I prayed that it was just my imagination and that it would not be true.

Little did I know that while I was spending time with the Lord that day, my mother was visiting her doctor because of a lump she found on her neck. They discovered that the cancer had come back in a different area of her body. She down played the doctor’s prognosis and said it was nothing to worry about.

That following week during my time with the Lord I sensed that I needed to be with her and was compelled to make the 5-hour drive for a 24-hour visit, before driving back home to fly out to a conference. Driving 10 hours round-trip for such a short visit, didn’t make sense either. Surely, I could visit my mom the following week after I returned from the conference.

Yet, I just could not shake it. I was compelled to visit my mom right then and there.

Upon seeing her, I immediately realized that she was indeed, not well. At all. I could not bring myself to leave her, so I canceled my trip and stayed there to help care for her. To everyone’s shock, 10 days after I arrived to visit my sweet momma, the Lord took her home.

It was because I listened to God’s gentle voice, even when He was telling me something that I didn’t want to hear, that I was able to spend almost every moment of my mom’s last days with her.

God knew that those days with her would be exactly what I needed, and there was nowhere else I would have wanted to be under those circumstances. He prepared me for what would be the most difficult loss I have ever experienced. But God loves us enough to tell us the things we may not want to hear, but we need to hear.

How do you respond when it seems that God is trying to tell you something you prefer not to hear? If it goes against what the culture says, do you reject it? If it goes against your plans, do you fight against it and push forward anyway? If it goes against the outcome, do you ignore it for a more favorable narrative you’re trying to write?

When you’re standing on the outside of circumstances that warrant God telling us something we don’t want to hear, it’s easy to say that the above responses to God's voice should be avoided. But, in the midst of it all, that right response is not always the easiest. If you’re like me, there are times when you’ve felt God nudging you to do or not do something and you’ve chosen to ignore it for whatever reason only to look back and realized that had you listened, you would have been better off. Our response is usually something like this, “Something told me I should have…” Fill in the blank.

So how should we respond when we believe God, (through His word, His Spirit via an impression on the heart, or other ways), may be telling us something we don’t want to hear?

1. Remember who God is // He knows all, loves us, and has our best interest in mind (Jeremiah 29:11). Even though we may feel hurt by or dislike what we hear, God is never out to harm us. He only wants His best for us. There is a reason He needs you to listen to Him.
2. Pray // So to have ears to hear Him clearly.
3. Listen // To consider whether He may be:
   • Challenging you to be obedient
   • Lovingly, preparing you for what is to come, or
   • Warning you of the dangers of going down or continuing to go down a particular path.
4. Watch // To see if He will bring clarity and confirmation. Try journaling what you believe the Lord is saying and seeking wise counsel from a mature Christ follower. Discernment is key when you’re deciding whether you need to act on what you hear…or not.
5. Act // Act on what God is directing you to do, when He directs you to do it. His timing is perfect, so it’s important to walk in step with God. Keep in mind, nothing that God tells you to do will go against His character and scripture.

Unless we live life in a bubble, we are going to be told some things that we prefer not to hear. Instead of viewing the hard things as only distractions or discouragement, consider filtering them using the first four steps. Whether it’s an opportunity for growth, preparation for the future, or a course correction, God will give you what you need to successfully navigate your circumstances.