by Luke Esslinger 
What Does it Say?
Mark 4:21–25 (NKJV) “Also He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’” 24 “Then He said to them, ‘Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.’”
What Does it Mean?
Jesus has just given us one of the most important parables, the parable of the sower. In Mark 4:13, Jesus communicates that if you don’t understand this parable, it will be difficult for you to understand the rest––wow! He highlights how His word is sown into our hearts, and that the enemy, our lack of spiritual strength or depth, and our desire for the world can cause those words to not take root and therefore not result in fruitfulness.
On the heels of this passage, Jesus then shows us how God reveals His intention for us to hear Him. He gives us the analogy that light was not meant to be hidden but to be displayed and that “there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed.” By this we see that God desires to reveal things to us, to speak to us. The light is not hidden from us to keep it from us, but to lead us to search for it, that we may grow in our pursuit of the Lord and hear Him!
Then Jesus emphasizes that both what we hear is important and that the measurement we use to hear God displays the “amount” of room we are giving Him to speak into our lives. When we take time to hear God and truly value His words, He will entrust us with more things to hear. On the flip side, if we are careless when God speaks, it won’t stick, and we are in danger of hearing less and less from God.
What Does it Mean to Us?
We must come to God knowing that He desires to speak to us! There is a wonderful game of hide and seek we are playing with God, and as we use our “spiritual muscles” to lean in to God and His Word, we will find hidden treasures for our lives. Also, we should enlarge our capacity to hear God by taking more time to be in the Word and prayer, and to keep God’s promises in our ears.
There are more resources of the word of God available today than ever before, and yet Christians still seem impotent in their spiritual lives. May we truly engage our hearts to what God is saying, may we act on in it faith, and continue to be entrusted by God to speak to us.
Response
Come to God today and repent for anything in your life you have valued in your ears more than God’s Word. Pray and ask God for His strength to seek His words, obey His words, and to continue to be entrusted with the things He says to you. Is there anything that God has spoken to you that you haven’t acted on? Return to that word, obey, and continue to lean in to hear Him!