Dull Ears

How often do we hear God’s attributes, but with limited hearing? Like words missing a letter – the whole meaning changes. We can recite of litany of Who God is – God is good, patient and kind. He is our Savior, Provider, and King. He protects, loves, and guides us. 
But we hear those words with letters missing – with our own caveats. To our dull ears, good means God gives me what I want. He’s patient, so He won’t punish me. King means in heaven, but for now I’m in charge. Protection means I will physically be preserved.
It never crosses our hearing that protection isn’t always physical – it could be emotional, and it definitely includes spiritual.
It never occurs to us that the Lord’s Kingship of heaven requires our submission on earth. 
And while we are willing to say patience includes firm correction for others, for me no way! 
And on that subject, we know love includes saying “no”. But we “know” it the best for us, so God would never tell us no!
We listen, but we are hard of hearing (Matthew 13:15, Acts 28:17, and Hebrews 5:11). And it's not a matter of listening harder, it's a matter of hearing what God has already said.