Day 3: Listen

Read: Jeremiah 18: 10-11

“However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will not bring the good I had said I would do to it. So . . . This is what the Lord says . . . Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.”

Understand:

God gives us specific directions to help us so He can bless us. Let’s look at this verse more closely.

1. God says He will not “bring the good I had said I would” if we do what? If we do evil in His sight
2. God specifically names this evil thing. What is it? Not listening to His voice
3. What are we to do with the evil? Turn away from it
4. What specifically does God say we should do once we turn away from evil? Correct out way and our deeds

Listen: Psalm 95 verses 7-11 explains that we are God’s people and we are supposed to listen to His voice. Verse 7-9 states, “Today, if you hear His voice: ‘Do not harden your hearts . . . as they [the Israelites] did in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me. . .” You see when we make the choice to ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit and not listen to God it is an act of disobedience. This disobedience God calls evil (Jeremiah 18:10). In Psalm 95 verse 10 it speaks clearly how God feels about this action: “For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation . . . They are a people whose hearts go astray . . .” Perhaps this is why God calls not listening to Him evil: it shows that our hearts have gone away from Him. We not only are being defiant by not listening to Him but we also are not experiencing the fellowship with God that will lead us to having a fruitful life. In Philemon 1 verse 20, the apostle Paul states, “. . . refresh my heart in Christ.”

We’ve talked a little about how important it is to renew our minds and to take time to rest. This is part of emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health. We also need to pray that God will refresh our heart in Christ. When our hearts go astray because we fail to listen and apply God’s word in our lives, we are truly disappointing Him. So much so that He will be disgusted with our lives. Not only that, He cannot bless disobedience. Taking time to rest and study God’s word is definitely for our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health but it is also so we can be still enough to hear from God; to be able to listen to His prompting through the Holy Spirit so we can be obedient to His word. We can’t miss this part because He tells us that He will bring good things in our lives but if we ignore Him and let our hearts go another way, He can’t do that.

Pray: Dear Lord, please forgive me for not listening to You. You speak to us through Your word in order to help us live a life that is not only pleasing to You but also for our benefit. May we learn to be still, study, and listen to You. Help us be discerning and obedient to Your word. In Christ name we pray. Amen.