I know. You might be thinking, "What a strange blog post title." It was either that or "The Dangers of Earwax Build Up."
Last week I hopped on my Instagram stories to share with you the ways God spoke to me about my walk with Him on the way home from my annual physical. In case you missed it, let me summarize it here!
Basically, I have always had major issues with earwax. It just builds up so fast and is so hard to remove. I remember one time I got my ears flushed out at my doctor's office when I was 15. I am now 33 (thank you again for the many of you who reminded me my age after I had a moment of panic on IG stories. I genuinely could not remember if I was 32 or 33. I just know I am older than 30 but not yet 40).
The point is, I haven't gone back to the doctor to get my ears flushed out since I was 15. That is, until last week. For years I've known that there was wax build up in my ear. My husband tried to get it out. I tried to get it out. But there came a point where I just stopped trying or caring. So I have earwax build up...it's fine! I can still hear enough.
I had settled for living my life with muffled hearing because the idea of having to go to the doctors to reveal how bad it is and fix it just took too much time, effort, and let's be real, it's not exactly the most comfortable experience.
So there I was, sitting at the doctor's office getting my routine check. Everything looked great. Praise God! Then she got to my ears. She stepped back and said, "Oh boy, you have really bad build up. We should really take care of this today."
I complied. I sat there waiting for the nurse to come in. She came in with this fancy sprayer and assured me she can get it out. Let me tell you what, she was persistent. Each ear had this big pebble sized piece of wax that was hard as rock. Her hand was cramping from how much she had to spray and pump water fast into my ear. On my end, I felt the immense pressure.
Half way through I told her we could just not worry about it. It's fine. I'm used to it. But with a warm kind smile she simply said, "We are going to get this out." She refilled the bottle and went for it again. 35 minutes later she was victorious. She got both small rock sized pieces (one in each ear) out!
I sat there in awe. Not just at how she was persistent and persevered despite the challenge, but also at what I could hear. I didn't realize how muffled my hearing actually was. It's hard to know what's muffled if you've forgotten what's clear. Muffled had become my new normal.
I could hear every subtle sound. The S's in words were crisper than ever. When I walked outside and stepped on the leaves, the crisp high pitched sound was so clean and clear. My hearing was no longer partial but whole.
As I drove home, God spoke to me about this whole experience. There are four things I have been chewing on since (and continue to be even now) that I'd like to share with you.
First, the same way I had let earwax build up in my ear for years, which led to muffled hearing and hindering my ability to hear fully, what am I allowing to build up in my spirt that is hindering me from fully hearing the voice of God? What am I allowing to build up that could be disrupting my full fellowship with God? What is hindering me from living abundantly and wholly in His presence, His promises and His peace?
Second, the same way I had to go to the doctor to reveal what the build up was, I have to go to the Great Physician (God Himself) so He can reveal it to me. It's not something I can identify on my own, especially since I may have normalized some of it so much so that I no longer see it as a hindrance.
Third, the same way I had to let the nurse flush out my ears, I have to let God heal, restore, renew, and purify. Is it comfortable? No. Is it humbling? Yes. Ultimately, there is no safer and more secure place to be than in the Father's hands.
Fourth, the same way I now have a responsibility to continually clean out my ear to prevent build up again, I must be alert to the things that the enemy uses to hinder me from fully walking in obedience to the Lord and resist. As Hebrews 12:1-3 says, I must throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles so I can run with perseverance the race marked out for me as I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.
Learn from my mistake. Don't wait. Don't procrastinate. Don't let it linger.
Whatever build up is causing you to live a muffled spiritual life, ask the Lord for His help. As He reveals, let Him heal. Then, continually throw off anything that could lead to that muffled life again. Resist it with me by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is with you. He is with me.
Love you friend.
