Obedience Brings Blessing

“For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.” Baruch 1:21-22

In the 7th Book of the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “My people do not listen to me. You keep doing whatever you want , following the stubborn desires of your evil hearts. You turn your backs, not your faces to me. I have sent you untiringly all my servants, the prophets, but you have not heeded their words....This is a nation that does not listen to Me or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared. Truth itself has banished from your speech.” (7:24-28)

Although this was written in the 6th century B.C., it seems to me as if God is speaking to us today. Jeremiah is one of the well-known prophets of the Old Testament. He lived during the crisis days of Judah when they were being invaded by Babylon, people were being deported, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were being slaughtered, and the Temple was destroyed. The main message was that God was disciplining the people for their disobedience. 

Obedience brings blessing and disobedience closes the door. But how can we obey if we do not recognize God's voice?  It seems as if the prophets in the Bible could talk to God, even argue with Him and bargain! 

God continues to speak to us today. But we need to slow down, quiet ourselves, and take the time to listen. If we do not turn to Him, we will have crisis after crisis. In the national arena, if we refuse to listen to God, more people will be killed, more will have to find work abroad, our leaders will continue to find ways to serve themselves, China will continue to have the temerity to invade our sovereignty, the Church will lose its influence and our culture will be attacked by the evil one. Lord, forgive us. May we obey You and may the truth be on our lips always.