Good morning, Pastor John!
The new job that I started, has stirred my heart, and I wanted to share it.
In this new position, I will troubleshoot and help recipients of cochlear implants, which is an implanted hearing device. I am still in training, so I have been listening to the calls coming in and hearing the various situations. In doing so, I have heard how life-changing it is when the ability to hear is gone due to lost equipment or equipment that needs repair. I have heard mothers frantically trying to return hearing to their children, elderly who cannot drive to appts or to get food because they are afraid to drive and not hear sirens or horns. They are afraid to be home alone, and feel isolated and alone. I have heard frustration and heartbreak when financial obstacles block them from new equipment or insurance has denied their claim.
I have an hour drive to and from work each day and that is my time to talk with Jesus. In one of those drives, I was thinking about how precious my hearing is, and my heart hurt for those who cannot hear or who go through so much to hear. I am not angry or against them for not being able to hear. I want them to hear like I can and will do everything I can to help them. Some of the situations I hear, I or my colleagues cannot do anything to help them, except ask Jesus to help this person and let them hear. Other times, I can play one small part, and it will change their life. They can hear and return to work or school, drive to appointments, go to lunch with loved ones and friends, or just make a phone call again.
As I feel all of these feelings, I feel like Jesus let me know that I should feel like that for who are spiritually deaf, too, because they are also cut off from life, that I should not be angry or frustrated that they cannot hear His truth, but keep a compassionate heart and pray for them.
So, I took some time in the morning and read all the verses with the word “deaf” in them. There are 16. I am going to share them below because they touched my heart.
We are so very blessed to hear from Jesus!
Exodus 4:11 And Jehovah said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb or the deaf, or the seeing or the blind? Do not I, Jehovah?”
Leviticus 19:14 You shall not curse a deaf man, nor shall you put a stumbling block before a blind man, but you shall fear before your God. I am Jehovah.
(These two verses really struck my heart.)
Psalm 28:1 To you I cry, O Jehovah my Rock! Do not be deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I be like those who go down into the Pit!
Psalm 38:13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear, and I am like a dumb man who does not open his mouth.
(Testify! Tell what Jesus is doing. Live!)
Psalm 58:4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like a deaf adder that stops his ear,
(I read about deaf adders. It is interesting.)
Isaiah 29:18 And in that day, the deaf will hear words of a scroll, and out of dimness and out of darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Isaiah 42:18 “Hear, you who are deaf, and look, you who are blind, that you may see!”
Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant, and deaf like my messenger that I send? Who is blind like the one to be repaid, and blind like the servant of Jehovah?
Isaiah 43:8 Bring forth the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears!
Micah 7:16 The Gentiles will see and be ashamed of all their power. They will lay a hand over their mouth. Their ears shall become deaf.
Mark 7:32 And they brought him a deaf man who had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.
Mark 7:37 And they were completely astounded, saying, “He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!”
Mark 9:25 Then Jesus, when he saw that a multitude was running together toward him, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you to come out of him, and enter into him no more!”
(Jesus can tell a spirit to never return. I felt faith surge in me reading that. My heart said, “Do it, Jesus, do it!”)
Beth