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“If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge.” Proverbs 19:27 NLT
 
I used to hate flying. I was bothered by every bump, alarmed at every noise, and anxious when the flight attendance were told to take their seats. I was keenly interested in the safety briefing and would play out the scenarios in my mind of what I needed to do and when. Now I fly regularly; a few times a month. I can’t say that I am to the point of enjoying it, but I am used to it. 
 
And now, I admit it there are times that I don’t listen to the safety briefing very carefully. When “let us point out the safety features of this aircraft” message starts, that is frequently my queue to dig into the book I have with me. It isn’t that I am not interested in the briefing, it is just that I am very familiar with the information. 
 
Maybe there are things that we all tune out to a certain degree, particularly in those areas where we are “test ready”. Even though I don’t listen very carefully to the aircraft safety announcement, if you were to test me on what to do with the oxygen masks, or where the life vest is or how to find the exits on the aircraft, I would be able to answer the questions on a test.  I have listened enough to have the knowledge of what to do in case of a test. 
 
I have yet to receive and airline safety test, but there are tests that come in our lives all the time, and many without any notice. When those test come, listening is important
 
When I was in high school one of my teachers sprung a test on us and gave us the instructions to read all of the way through the test before answering the questions. Read all the way through the test first. I didn’t listen. In the effort to get through the test quickly, I feverishly attacked each question to provide the answer. Then came the last “question” which said something liken “don’t answer any of the questions, just put your name and date at the top of the paper with a check mark and turn it in.” Yikes! Because I didn’t listen to the instructions, I experienced unnecessary difficulty. 
 
Are there areas in your life where you need to be listening carefully? Is there an area where you need to pay attention to “the lesson” God is teaching you? Often times when we don’t listen, we are destined to “re-take” the rest. But as we listen to the instructions, hopefully we learn more and more and are ready when the tests come. 
 
Not learning because you didn’t listen is a tragic thing, it means turning your back on knowledge. 
 
This week listen carefully to the instructions, learn the lessons, and increase in knowledge. 
 
In His Hands, 
 
John