“The Lord goes before you and will be with you . . do not be afraid.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
“You can listen without obeying, but you will not obey without listening.”
My thoughts today are about “obedience and confidence.”
Verizon Cellular etched their brand into the American consciousness with TV ads asking “Can you hear me now?” I wonder if God ever thinks of asking you or me that?
I know my Dad asked me that more often than he should have needed to do so. Sometimes it seems I can still hear his voice, rarely impatient or harsh, “Allen, did you hear me?” The issue was never really about my hearing – more about my willingness than my ability. His assumption was that if I heard him clearly and correctly, I would obey him completely and quickly. He was right to expect that. It is a lesson for life’s success.
I have discovered that you can listen without obeying, but you cannot obey without listening. If you are not listening, how can you know what God is saying to you, and if you don’t know that, how can you obey? God promises numerous and wonderfully diverse blessings to those who hear and obey. “These blessings shall come on you . . if you will hearken to the voice of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 28:2. The New Testament seems to echo, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself.” James 1:22.
Why is it that you and I entertain so many other voices (even that of our own ideas and opinions) and allow so much noise to drown out the gentle and essential voice of the Holy Spirit? Why would you listen to other voices – some that deceive, many that distract, and few that will ultimately make any eternal difference?
When God asked a young boy, “can you hear me now,” Samuel’s response was simply and honestly, “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10. Samuel’s willing attention to God’s voice implies that he was listening in order to obey whatever he heard from God. And God had a lot to tell him, just because he was willing to listen when others were not.
You would like to know your future, but you cannot. Life is lived one day at a time. Ever wonder what God is longing to tell you about what’s ahead? Would you breathe easier today, and worry less about tomorrow, if you knew that God has it all under His control?
When you are listening, you will hear the whisper of the Spirit in your heart assuring you that, “The Lord goes before you and will be with you . . do not be afraid.” Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV. You can live with a heart to know and obey God at all times; that commitment allows you to live with supreme confidence.
My prayer for you today is that you will be obedient to His voice, and live confidently.