I have two pairs of earbuds for my iPad.

Since I love to listen to audiobooks and to stream other noisy things (such as news videos and music), my earbuds are essential. Otherwise, I’ll drive my wife crazy with the noise.

Unfortunately for the serenity of our home, one time I couldn’t find my earbuds. I hadn’t used them for a few days, and now I could’t find them.

Rather than listen to my audiobooks, news videos, and music, my wife lent me her extra pair of earbuds.

What types of spiritual “earbuds” enable us to listen to the Spirit of the LORD?

If we are fortunate, we begin learning to listen to the Spirit of the LORD when we are children. (1 Samuel 3:1-21).

Our parents and grandparents can be our spiritual earbuds. For example, Timothy began learning how to listen to the Spirit of the LORD by observing the “sincere faith, which first lived in [his] grandmother Lois and in [his] mother Eunice.” (2 Timothy 1:5).

As a parent and a grandparent, I feel a tremendous responsibility and sense a wonderful opportunity to be spiritual earbuds for my children and grandchildren.

The most important thing I can do is to live in the Way of Jesus so that they observe my sincere faith.

In addition, I hope and pray that my books, blogs and podcasts are also spiritual earbuds for my children and grandchildren!

The Bible is one of the best spiritual earbuds we can use. As the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

The Bible is able to make us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15). All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

Praying is another key spiritual earbud.

Jesus urged us to pray diligently (Luke 11:5-10; Luke 18:1-8). He told us:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10).

Like Jesus, Paul urged us to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV).

Furthermore, Paul assured us that, if we don’t know specifically what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in groanings. (Romans 8:26-27):

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-28).

Another spiritual earbud is fellowship with others who are following the Way of Jesus.

As the author of Hebrews admonished us: “[L]et us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another . . .” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Paul wrote the church at Thessalonica how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds:

Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold onto what is good, reject every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless . . . (1 Thessalonians 5:12-23).

Why do we sometimes lose our spiritual “earbuds”?

In his Parable of the Sower, Jesus warns us about some of the things that can cause us to fall away from the Way of Jesus—can cause us to lose our spiritual earbuds: troubles, persecutions, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things. (Matthew 13:21-22; Mark 4:19).

Perhaps the greatest problem comes simply from failing to use our spiritual earbuds regularly—throughout every day and in every circumstance. Soon, we have stashed our spiritual earbuds among the many distractions of our life.

Instead of having spiritual earbuds, we end up having spiritual earplugs!

If this happens to you, make sure to cling to other believers. Just as I borrowed earbuds from my wife, you can borrow their spiritual earbuds to listen to the Spirit of the LORD as these other followers of the Way of Jesus share their understanding of Scriptures, their prayers,and their faith with us.

This strategy worked for Doubting Thomas.

As you may recall, Thomas wasn’t in the locked room where Jesus appeared on the evening of the first Easter. The believers who had been in the room where it happened, assured him that Jesus was alive.

Nevertheless, Thomas refused to believe it.

As I wrote in Hoping in the LORD:

When you have intellectual doubts about the truth regarding God, do not lose hope. Everyone feels doubts and confusion sometimes in the face of tragedies or skepticism. The important thing is never to give up your search for the truth despite your doubts. Because, if you persevere, Jesus will eventually satisfy your questioning.

Thomas’s experiences as a doubter shed light on how to overcome such doubts.

First and foremost, do not stop gathering with other followers of Jesus! Even though you have doubts, stay near those who are patient enough to help you through your time of doubting.

Second, do not limit yourself to one approach to perceiving truth. The doubts of Doubting Thomas come easily to those steeped in modern science. It is hard to find that intellectual balance between what physical evidence can prove and what the Scriptures teach. But never lose hope that, when properly understood, Science and the Scriptures will complement and illuminate each other. . . . .

[An illustration is] how different the same thing may look when we study it with different wavelengths of ”light”. [For example, consider] the difference between how your hand looks in a normal photograph compared to how it looks in an x-ray.

Both photos are true and accurate. But one photo is more useful if you want to know how your hand looks to other people. And the other photo is more useful if you want to know whether you have a broken bone. The two photos complement and illuminate the truth about your hand just as Science and the Scriptures complement and illuminate the truth about the universe.

In God’s good time and in God’s good way, Jesus will reveal to you the right tools and the right photos to find him. Then you will be able to stop doubting. Then you will believe. And then you will say to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

I have two words of caution, however.

First it may be a long time before Jesus reveals the right tools and photos to you [—your “spiritual earbuds”].

Thomas only had to wait one week. But other people have sincere doubts for years.  Be patient while you work through doubts. And always be patient with others who doubt, even if you have no such doubts.

Second, make sure your doubts are sincere.

Some people insincerely use “doubts” merely as excuses for not following God’s ways. In such cases of insincere questioning, you may never find the right tools or photos. Because no matter what you discover about God and his ways, you will always deny the truth. (2 Timothy 3:7; Luke 9:57-62).

Then you become like the unfruitful soil in the Parable of the Sower. You will be unable to bear fruit for Jesus—not because of your doubts about the truth—but because [you lost your spiritual earbuds amidst the distractions] of troubles, persecutions, worries, the deceitfulness of wealth, or the desire for other things.

And, finally, keep in mind that doubts can come at many times and about many things. [(Luke 4:13).

Even if you are convinced that Jesus is your Lord and your God, doubts may arise over what God has called you to do with your life. Or doubts may arise about the morality of certain practices that you previously participated in such as astrology, gambling, abortion, or war.

Do not despair in the face of doubts about what you should do and believe.

[Use your spiritual earbuds to listen to the Word of the LORD! As James assured us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5).]

No matter how many doors are locked in your heart and mind, Jesus always comes in through them and says, “Peace be with you!”

And then [Jesus] provides the right mix of experiences from life and teachings from the Scriptures to end the doubts in your mind, bring hope to your heart, and give purpose to your life. That is how Jesus Carrie’s you across oceans of doubts until you reach the Promised Land.

(Hoping in the LORD, at pages 323-325).

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What types of “spiritual earbuds” do you prefer? Why?

Have you ever lost your spiritual earbuds? Why?

How did you find your lost spiritual earbuds?

Have you ever used someone else’s spiritual earbuds? Why?

Have you ever enabled someone else to use your spiritual earbuds? Why?

READ MORE

For related thoughts, please read the full chapter “Jesus Overcomes the Doubts of Doubting Thomas” in my book Hoping in the LORD, at pages 321-325.

Also, please read Appendix 6 “Tax Law Concepts Regarding Adam, Eve, Etc.” in my book The Promised Land, at pages 191-194; Appendix 11 “Doubts: Sunglasses and Shakespeare” in The Promised Land, at pages 205-208; and Appendix 12 “Predestination and Free Will: Norman Rockwell and Renoir” in The Promised Land, at pages 208-210. The other Appendices in The Promised Land also touch upon these items occasionally.

Related blogs are “The Way of Jesus: The Nones”, “The Way of Jesus: Following the Way of the Wisdom that Follows the Way of the LORD”, “The Way of Jesus: The Truth Overcomes Oceans of Doubts” and “The Way of Jesus: The Truth Overcomes Oceans of Hopeless Confusion”.