Remember what it says:
“Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled”
Hebrews 3:15 (NLT)

My day is filled with noise.  
From the ring on my alarm clock (which let’s be honest, I hear more than once because snooze) to getting ready while listening to the radio, to the drive, and then into my office, with music playing and conversations happening and phones ringing.  It’s just noisy.

You too?

And this is a problem … because Scripture tells us that God’s voice isn’t always that easy to hear, that instead of being loud and booming and overcoming everything around us, it’s still and small.  God is not still and small, but sometimes in order to hear what God is trying to say, we have to take time to sit and be still in order to be even a little bit close to prepared to hear what God has to say.  

And then, if we actually take the time and effort to sit and listen to God’s voice –
We don’t always want to hear what God has to say.
In fact, I’d say we often don’t want to hear what God has to say.

The writer of the book of Hebrews knew our propensity to harden our hearts against Jesus.
And comparing it to when the Israelites did it in their wanderings in the wilderness was a good move, because those hearing it the first time knew exactly what was being referenced.

Over and over again, God would call to the Israelites, and the Scriptures have story upon story of them hardening their hearts.  It’s a phrase that we don’t really use anymore, but it means to be stubborn, or to become obstinate.  
(Maybe we should bring this phrase back!)
They would hear God’s call, but they’d turn away.
They’d ignore it.
They’d do the opposite.

The author of Hebrews reminds us that when we hear God’s call, listen.
Take heart.
Don’t get stubborn and stuck in old ways of living.
I know, I know – we don’t like change.
Ignoring God is easier.
Doing what we’ve always done is smoother.
But not better.
God’s voice usually brings change, but that change is new life, love and grace.
Why would we want to harden our hearts to that?

Lastly, my favorite part of this verse is a teeny tiny Hebrew word: ἐάν (pronounced ay-ahn). It can be translated “if” which a lot of translations use, but the translation I used today instead translates it in another perfectly acceptable way – “when.”

So there’s a promise here too – not just that God’s voice brings us new life, but that God’s voice is always speaking.
It says “today – when you hear God’s voice….”
Not if, when.
God’s voice is there, always breaking in, always speaking those words of grace and love and life.
So today, when you finally take the time to sit and listen – don’t ignore it.
Don’t become stubborn.
Don’t harden your heart.

Listen to what God has already spoken to you and for you.
Listen.