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PROGRAM D-7587
If you’re a parent, have you ever said to your children something like: “If you’d just obey me and do what I say, you wouldn’t have any trouble”? I used to teasingly accuse my mother of showing favoritism to my older brother, and she always replied, “I loved you all the same, but Roger always minded me and he was the easiest to raise.”
A child who obeys is a great joy to any parent. And the same is true of our heavenly Parent. Psalm 81:10-16 says:
“I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! . . . you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Time and again the Lord lamented Israel’s lack of obedience, because it kept him from pouring blessings on them as he wanted to. And the same is true for us today. When we refuse to obey God, we forfeit untold blessings which God has all ready for us.
For example, have you been trying and trying to achieve success in some area and nothing seems to work? Maybe it’s your career; you had great hopes of moving ahead and doing well, but you seem to be stymied somewhere along the way. Well, check out the obedience factor. Is there some area in your life where you are knowingly living in disobedience, refusing to listen to the Lord and follow his ways?
Maybe it’s in the purity of your life. Do you cut corners here and there to make yourself look better or gain some advantage? Do you lie on occasion to get what you want? Are you messing around with some sexual infidelity or immoral relationship? God can’t pour out blessings on you when you refuse to obey him.
And the incredible thing is, he’s waiting, longing to be good to you. He would quickly come to your aid if you were willing to turn your stubborn heart around and follow the Lord.
What blessings are you missing because you aren’t listening to the Lord? It could be real tragic.