In Luke 19:1-10, the Bible tells us about a publican, a tax collector named Zacchaeus. He was a rich man. He therefore had a certain position in society. We are not going to dwell here on the fact that he also had a bad reputation.
Having learned that Jesus was going to pass, Zacchaeus went to stand in his way to see him when he does, because he was “seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature (Luke 19:3). Never mind! “So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree to see him, for He was about to pass that way” (Luke 19:4).
Zacchaeus was certainly aware of his position in society. He was a wealthy man and that gave him a certain status. I don’t think it was common to see people of his rank in the trees! Also, in the episode recounted in Luke 19, and even in the life of Jesus on earth, not everyone got to see Him! Those who saw Jesus were those who were lucky enough to be in the places he was going or on the path he was going to pass by, by chance or intentionally. So we understand that in all the towns and villages where Jesus was, not everyone saw Him.
Zacchaeus could also have stayed at home or spent his time in other ways, but he chose to go see Jesus. He had, if not the thirst, at least the curiosity to see this person whose exploits he had heard.
Like many other people that day, Zacchaeus made himself available, he dropped everything to see Jesus. He did not hesitate to climb a tree, thus disregarding his rank, his position in society and what people would say. He despised all that to see Jesus.
And as always when we put ourselves in position, Jesus met him and went to stay with him despite the murmurs of those who disapproved of this and did not understand that Jesus could stay with a sinner.
How far are we willing to go to see and hear Jesus? Are you in a position to hear his voice? What is the disposition of your heart in relation to the multiple opportunities we have to hear his word, to marvel at what he does on a daily basis around us or in people’s lives? It is very easy to miss an opportunity to praise God or let Him teach us just because we are busy doing something else or lost in our thoughts. The daily grind can take up too much space and leave too little for God in our lives. This is why we must be truly intentional if we want to live in the presence of God and be able to hear Him speak to us in the midst of our multiple tasks.
Yes, it is possible to live the frenetic life that we live while remaining focused on the essential, which is the presence of God in us. God can speak to you while you are driving your car on the way to work, He can speak to you in the shower, you can hear His voice while eating or putting on your shoes. God also speaks to us through multiple situations that we deal with on a daily basis. You just have to listen.
The Bible tells us in Job 33:14 NIV: “For God does speak-now one way, now another- though no one perceives it.” That’s exactly it. This means that if we were more willing to listen, we would hear more from God every day.
But where does this disposition of the heart come from? It comes from the relationship you create day by day with God. What is the nature of your relationship with God? Where and when do you have an appointment with Him? At church on Sunday? At the praise and worship meeting? In the small group? All this is good, but it is not enough. We can meet up regularly in a group of friends, but group friendships are often superficial. If you want to build an intimate relationship with a person, you will have to meet her regularly outside the group to get to know each other better. So you will know the person more intimately, you will know what she likes more or less, the subjects that interest her, in short, together you will develop regular and intimate communication which can take the relationship as far as you decide to go. It’s exactly the same with God. If we want more intimacy with Him, if we want to hear Him speak to us regularly, we will have to meet Him privately, outside of prayer groups or church meetings. It is in these intimate meetings that we create space for him in our hearts and in our lives, that we learn to speak to Him and hear Him, by praying and reading His word.
Without an intimate relationship with God, we will not be able to hear Him speak to us. And the price to pay is time, but also the discipline to remain constant in our intimate appointments with God. We all have 24 hours in the day and we have very busy lives but if you look closely, we also waste a lot of time on trivialities. Personally, if I’m not careful, I can easily waste valuable time scrolling through news and discussion threads on my phone. I have to be intentional and get back on track as quickly as possible when this happens, and that’s a sacrifice. We must therefore not hesitate to sacrifice what we must sacrifice for our daily appointments with God. You can sacrifice your screen time, but you can also sacrifice your sleep!! We read in Matthew 11:12 that “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.” Sometimes we have to do violence to ourselves to seek God.
Prayer: Father, I want to know you, I want to hear your voice. Increase my thirst for you, Lord. I want to dispose of my heart and pay the price for more intimacy with you. Amen.
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