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Jul 20, 2022 18:30pm

Listen to Obey

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It’s been a while since we’ve been able to see my nephews in Northwest Arkansas. With the pandemic, we’ve tried to be careful, protective and respectful of each family. We didn’t have Christmas together and man, we sure missed them.

So, my sister, my niece and I planned a little trip. We rented a hotel with a pool and picked up the boys. We had such a great time! We opened Christmas presents, swam in the over-chlorinated pool, played board games, had food delivered, and raided the vending machine.

One of the Christmas gifts was a gum-ball machine. Now, my niece loves her some gum. She likes the pink ones because that’s her favorite color, but she will eat any of them.

It was early in the morning and we were getting ready to go get breakfast. She started to grab some gum and her mom stopped her. “Not before breakfast, you can have some later. Do you hear me?” So, she grumbled a “yes” and left the machine alone.

But only for a minute.

While my sister and nephew were in the other room fixing hair and putting on his new cologne (watch out junior high girls) I noticed my niece chomping away. I asked her what she had in her mouth and she knew she had been caught. She just stared at me. I told her that her mom had already told her no and she needed to listen to her.

Listen to obey, not just hear.

This same type of listening is described in Deuteronomy 30:10

“If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:10)

Hearken means to listen with the intent to obey. God wanted the Israelites to hear His commandments and follow them, with all their heart and soul.

How often do we do the same thing? Listen but don’t obey. We hear, but we don’t heed.

Every morning, I read through the scriptures. I pray over it, asking the Lord to show me what might be in my own heart that needs to change. Then, I ask the Lord to allow me to share what I’ve learned with others through this daily devotional. My intent is never to point out anyone else’s flaws, but to show that all of us, as Christians, struggle. We all need reminders of how to live a life that’s pleasing to the Lord – one that seeks to praise Him, desires to study His word, let His truth mold and shape us, and repent when necessary. Today, I’m praying that the Holy Spirit would fill our hearts and minds and lead us in the way we should go. Lord, help me to listen and obey your word, with all my heart and all my soul.