Given Over to Stubborn Hearts
Many people do not know how God works with us. Some think that He always stops us from making wrong decisions. Others think He just lets us do whatever we want all of the time. Neither way is totally true. God loves His people, in fact, He loves all people. Therefore, He speaks to our hearts to draw us to Christ for our salvation. Then, once we come to know Christ and follow Him, He continues to speak to our hearts to direct our lives. He will even put pressure on us in different ways, but He does not force us to do anything. When He has spoken so much, and we are not listening, He finally gives us over to our stubborn hearts. Asaph realized this was what had happened to Israel in the Old Testament times. (Psalm 81:11,12) We need to see that this is still how God works with us today.
What is God saying to you? How is He directing your life? If we hear Him, and we do not listen, His voice will get more and more faint, until it is very difficult to discern what He is saying. All we will hear is what our stubborn heart is saying, except on rare occasions when He breaks in to try us again. Many people think this gives us the right not to listen to God, but just to do what we think is right. They think that He is fine with what they are doing. Nothing could be more wrong. God gets tired of trying to push us in the right way, so He lets us go our own way, until we see the mess we have gotten ourselves in and turn back to Him. Believe me, that is not the best way. The best way is to listen to the Lord and obey. If we don't hear Him, get our heart right, confess sins, and cry out to Him until we do hear Him. Hearing from Him every day and following His path is the way to an abundant life. #nhbaptist.org
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 82-84.
What is God saying to you? How is He directing your life? If we hear Him, and we do not listen, His voice will get more and more faint, until it is very difficult to discern what He is saying. All we will hear is what our stubborn heart is saying, except on rare occasions when He breaks in to try us again. Many people think this gives us the right not to listen to God, but just to do what we think is right. They think that He is fine with what they are doing. Nothing could be more wrong. God gets tired of trying to push us in the right way, so He lets us go our own way, until we see the mess we have gotten ourselves in and turn back to Him. Believe me, that is not the best way. The best way is to listen to the Lord and obey. If we don't hear Him, get our heart right, confess sins, and cry out to Him until we do hear Him. Hearing from Him every day and following His path is the way to an abundant life. #nhbaptist.org
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 82-84.