Have you ever spent five minutes "listening" to someone only to discover that you totally zoned out and didn't genuinely hear what they were saying? Isn't that the worst! It's terrible when you feel the other person has fully realized that you didn't listen to them. At that point, I get that awful feeling, and sometimes I even apologize, but nothing will genuinely help the other person feel ok about it. You showed how sincerely you cared about that person at that moment, and it wasn't pretty. Unfortunately, I've done the same sort of thing when it comes to listening to God.

Have you ever read or listened to a chapter in the Bible and then realized that you weren't fully engaged? When that happens, I feel like I’ve been listening to the Bible through a filter. I’ve simply been sitting there and straining all of God's glorious holiness, wisdom, and righteousness through a filter. I only took the tiniest amount I could from it. We usually don't do it intentionally, but this way of listening can significantly hinder us.

It's time that we take the filters off and start positioning ourselves to hear God.

In 2 Corinthians 14, Paul discusses what happened when God's chosen people didn't position themselves to hear his voice:

But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

A veil is a fabric that keeps light from revealing someone’s face. This type of cover was a prominent part of the story of Moses at Mount Sinai. While leading the people of Israel, he spent time with God face-to-face, and his face started glowing with brilliant light. The people of Israel had difficulty looking at Moses because his face shone with the majesty of God, so they asked him to put a veil over his face to conceal the glory. They didn’t push through and get used to the intensity of God’s presence. Instead, they begged for him to veil his face from them so that only some of it would come through.

Even if we don’t deliberately put a mask on God’s word, we may partially obscure God’s word by our distractions, veiling it from reaching our hearts with full impact.

Did you catch that last part? Let's reread it: "...this veil can only be removed only by believing in Christ." It’s not only a matter of physical and mental determination to focus and hear when it comes to the Bible. We need to position ourselves mentally and spiritually at Jesus' feet to listen to his words through the Bible. Without Jesus' ongoing work, we will never grasp the exact message that the Bible desires to communicate. Without Jesus, we can only taste the Bible through the filter of our weak minds.

In other words, the Bible is not just a collection of stories and poems; it is God's living, breathing, and loving words. Because of that, no amount of studying, reading, and desire can reveal the truth inside if we don't prepare our hearts. If you want to understand the Bible, pray with me today: "Jesus, I believe you are God. I believe that your words are not trapped on a page. I pray that you would open my eyes to the true majesty, mystery, and love within the Bible."