A 16-year-old Indian-American, Mukund Venkatakrishnan, created a hearing device that aims to help those with mild to moderate hearing loss and costs only $60. When Mukund visited his grandparents in India, he began setting up appointments for his grandfather who suffered from hearing loss. After his family spent over $2,000 on appointments and hearing aids, Mukund realized hearing was a luxury that most people in developing countries cannot afford. For two years Mukund worked diligently at developing a device that tests a person’s hearing and serves as a hearing aid. It can be used with even the cheapest set of headphones. There are roughly 360 million people around the world who suffer from hearing loss, so Mukund’s device will help many people hear who cannot afford it otherwise.

How’s your hearing?

Thinking about hearing as a luxury reminds us to appreciate our ability to hear the sounds God has created in the world around us. Do you pay attention to the sounds you hear throughout the day? Most of us are so busy, distracted by technology and lost in our personal worries that we don’t take time to listen to what’s going on around us. God is constantly trying to get our attention, but we rarely hear God’s voice over all the distractions. It’s hard to hear the voice of our Creator when we are never still or quiet.

Tuning into God’s voice

God chose to speak to people in the Bible in some crazy ways. The Lord spoke through a burning bush, an audible voice from the sky, a talking donkey, written law, the prophets, angels and so on. God still speaks to us today in a variety of ways, but mostly through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit whispers God’s words of truth to our hearts, nudging us towards Christ. God also speaks to us through Scripture, nature, other people, books, sermons, music, poetry, silence, metaphors/analogies and so on. As Christians, it’s important to tune into God’s voice by tuning out other distractions. We need to learn to recognize God’s voice, believe the truth it speaks, and follow God’s direction.

Question of the day: What are your favorite sounds?
Key Scriptures: 1 Kings 19; Matthew 3:13-17; John 10:11-16, 27-30

For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.