Are You Speaking to Be Heard?

Everyone has a desire to be heard, to be validated, or understood. The challenge for many is that there can be so many barriers to communication that people often walk away from a situation frustrated because they do not feel or believe that they have been heard. Whether you are on the mountain of religion, business, family or some other mountain of cultural influence, being heard is necessary.

The greatest communicator of all time, Jesus, spent three and a half years speaking to a multitude of people. While he was speaking to a multitude of people, his focus was not the multitude. He really concentrated his time by investing in a certain few. The ones he focused on were the ones who had ears to hear. Isn't it interesting that among the twelve disciples that he dedicated the vast amount of his time with, happened to be fishermen? Jesus connected with them by relating to what they cared about; fishing. He said, "Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men."

It's a true saying that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. The disciples followed him because they connected to the heart of a man who connected to what was in their heart. Jesus didn't just connect to the disciples on the level of fishing because it was their career. He connected to them in this as a means of letting them know that they were significant and had lives of value and purpose. 

Jesus was heard not just because he connected to their area of interest only, he connected to their heart. The connection went beyond connecting to their desire for significance but also addressing their pains and wounding. When the Pharisee confronted Jesus, wondering why he did what he did and dealt with the people that he dealt with, his response was that only the sick have need of a physician. 

Jesus, like a good physician addressed the pains of people who were neglected, rejected, oppressed, berated and belittled by the elite of that day. Jesus honored those who had been dishonored. He restored dignity to those whose dignity had been stripped. He breathed hope into the hopeless. He mended broken relationships and resurrected dead ones too.

If you have a desire to be heard on any mountain of society, you must connect to those on the mountain in the same way Jesus connected to the people of his day. This does not mean that you have to literally tell people that you're going to make them fishers of men, but in whatever way God has graced you, connect to the heart of the people on the mountain God has called you to and reveal a heart that cares for them, be the physician that brings healing and wholeness. As people begin to see you heart for them, you will begin to see them becoming more receptive to what you have to say.