Have you ever felt like you had words waiting to burst out of you?
When I was a kid I was a pretty extra-ordinary swimmer for my age. I suppose I'm not too bad now either. My mom had the perpetually late gene passed down to her from her mother. We would inevitably arrive at swimming lessons 5, 10, 15 minutes late. I would run into the pool, change, and run out to the deck. The swimming instructor would tell me what the laps we had for the day and I would dive in and get started. Usually I was able to finish the laps before the rest of the class even though I had arrived late.
One of my other swimming skills was holding my breath. I would attempt to Grab a big breath of air and swim the width of the pool. This be came easier and easier. I began to swim across and back under the water. Then I began to swim the length of the pool under water. I started by using the diving board and going half way, two thirds, then the whole length. Finally I could start with a push off of the wall and swim the whole length of the pool underwater.
When I first started I remember the burn in my lungs as I reached the half way point. I would explode to the surface gasping for breath. Must..have..air. But as I "trained" the burn got less and less, I could go further and further to the point where I could calmly come up from the water at the end of the pool.
When I read Job 32 I was reminded of this experience. Elihu just can't keep it in any longer. He just has to open his mouth. The other three older men have given their arguments to Job and failed. They are silent now. Elihu must speak his lungs are burning with the words he has been holding inside. It's not age or experience that gives you wisdom, it's God's spirit, says Elihu.
This description betrays the young man in my mind. If he is bursting with his argument it means he has been forming it this whole time. If he has been forming the whole time he hasn't been able to listen very well. You know this is the way we communicate, we pause in a argument only long enough to form our next statement of attack. We can't really be listening fully to the other person let alone trying to understand them if we are just planning what we are going to say next.
If we can learn not only to wait our turn, which Elihu did, but to listen as well then we will be able to speak with calm understanding words. Job needed understanding, he needed to know his pain was being felt and understood by those around him. Elihu was unable to give understanding because he was too focused on holding his own breath trying not to explode rather than listening to Job. He may have listened enough to fuel his fire and quote Job a few times to make his point, be he did not understand Job.
May we learn to listen today, to really listen. There are times to speak with passion to say the things which must be said, but only after the person we are listening to has been understood. I pray we would be able to listen to God today as well seeking understanding rather than reading just enough to get our devotional time in.
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