Who's voice do I hear?

Ok, so hope I don't disappoint, but this post doesn't have anything to do with Zumba either! :)

This week I was at my son's baseball game and my son was up to bat. Well, let me tell you first that this is my son's first year to play baseball, and he's learning as he goes, he knows the basics but putting basics into practice is sometimes alittle different. You know the general rules and boundries but it's the nuances of being a part of the action that can take on a whole different feeling.

So, my son was up to bat. There are coaches by the dugouts, coach on first, coach on third, ump behind you, ump by 1st, ump behind the pitcher, etc etc etc. ... Parents are screaming in the stands, kids are yelling, and there my son is trying to do the right thing.

It occurred to me that it must be hard to focus with all that noise going on. I mean, your coach says to you, "listen to me" "pay attention to me" "watch my signals" but my goodness, how do you know who's yelling at you? To top it off, I think the catcher had the same name as my son. So you hear his coach yelling directions to him, and you hear my son's coach yelling directions at him and the look on my son's face is "Is he talking to me?"

So this gets me thinking...how do you know your coaches voice among all the shouting? YOU LISTEN.
You listen during practice, you learn the voice of your coach, you know the things he says, you become FAMILIAR with him. 

Over time, you learn when to look at him, and when to just listen for him. You learn to trust what he means when he yells, "GO!" and what he means when he yell, "HOLD!"

Last night I learned that if you don't listen, you make a mistake, and that mistake could cost you, but there is value in learning. Last night, he tried to steal 2nd, he got out when he ran back to first. 2 things, #1, he doubted the decision he made when he was on the cusp of 2nd and ran back, and #2, he didn't listen to his coach because he should have never tried to steal 2nd in the first place.

When he came off the field, his coach said "what where you thinking? Did I tell you to run? " No, was the reply. "Listen to me, do what I say". What was the lesson? Listen to and trust your coach or there will be consequences, he sees the bigger picture of the field and is directing your path.

So, failure hurt and the coach said shake it off. Next time out, he listened and watched and brought in the winning run! Oh what a marvelous feeling and a marvelous lesson! 2nd go he had learned to pay attention and trust his coach and Wall-ah! Confirmation!

I realized that God is speaking to us, through His Word, through Christ's time on earth, through our Pastor, and through fellow Christians, he is laying out the land, directing the path, He wants us to LISTEN, WATCH HIM,Become FAMILIAR  ....KNOW HIS VOICE!

How will we know His voice? Listen to Him speak,  let him scold you when you mess up and appreciate the grace He shows when He says "shake it off". Trust him so that you can see the result of the win and receive YOUR confirmation. He sees the bigger picture, and He is your guide. Learn to LISTEN FOR HIS VOICE!

"He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust" Psalms 91:2