The Value Of Listening To Someone Else’s Story

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. – James 1:19

Someone who really blessed my life when I was a young seminarian was a guy with the nickname Pogo. He trained missionaries before they were getting ready to go on the mission field. When I first met Pogo, I sat down with him and immediately he said, “Tell me about yourself.” I certainly liked to talk about that subject! So I began to tell him about my journey, thinking that he would be impressed.

When I was finished, he looked at me and said (with great care and sensitivity), “Curt, have you ever thought that all the things that you did in your past, you were putting one foot in the Kingdom and one foot out? You are playing a dancing game with the Lord. You rebelled for a while, then you got right. Then you rebelled again, and you got right. Have you ever thought that God was about to put you aside and look for someone else that he could use? Do you realize that because of the prayers of a faithful little old lady in your church, God decided to give you another chance?” I began to think that is probably what happened. After all, each of us is a work in process.

On top of that, what I learned from this conversation is that nothing is more powerful than listening to how God has orchestrated the journey of someone else. One of the greatest things we can do as a body of believers is to allow people to tell their stories and listen.

Listening to someone else's story will enrich your life and deepen your story. It will help you develop a teachable spirit. I pray that this week you will find someone who will share their story with you so that you can see firsthand how valuable and loving it is to be a good listener.