Text- Job 33:14- “For God speaks, time and time again; the first time in one way, the second time in another, though man pays no attention”
Sometimes ago, in the year 2006, I was walking with two friends along a path where there was a very deep ditch. It was around 10pm in the night and everywhere was stark dark!
As we walked and chatted on, I saw like a flash, a picture of someone falling inside the ditch. Being a very playful and jovial person, I made fun with it and said to my friends, "You know, it's possible for someone to fall into this ditch – if anyone of you falls inside, I will lau.....gh" Yours sincerely, I completed the last word inside the ditch!
After falling into the ditch, it dawned on me that what I had was a divine communication, and I missed it. Not only that, I missed it in a grand style! As you would expect, my friends laughed... One of them then even exclaimed, "Ah! They saw a very large snake inside this ditch yesterday". I later found out that was a lie, but the thought of the snaked scared the hell out of me while I was in the ditch.
I would have loved to ask whether the said snake was still in the ditch or they were able to kill it, but my friends left immediately to call people to rescue me. The time I had to wait for rescue was horrible; I was sinking in a ditch; I was stuck in an admixture of muck and mess; and I was perpetually tormented by the presence of a very big snake that existed only in my mind!
The point I’m trying to make is this – I would not have been in that ditch if I had paid attention to God, I would not have been in that mess if I had paid attention to God, and I would not have been tormented if I had paid attention to God.
Take a moment to think about this…
How many times have we trivialized divine instructions and divine cautions? How many times have we fallen into ditches of life, while in fact, all the alarm bells of our spirit went off in protest, but we ignored them?
How many times have we blamed God for the mess in our lives, accusing Him of failing us, while we were actually the ones that rebelled against his caution?
How many times has the devil taken advantage of or insensitivity to divine instructions, while we erroneously ask God why He has hidden His face from us and left us to be so tormented?
Genesis 3:4 “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”… God used the burning bush to catch Moses’ attention, and only revealed Himself when Moses paid attention.
Beloved, as you go about your day today, don’t be careless with divine cautions and instructions. Pay attention to God; that will deliver you from a lot of troubles and equip you for a more productive day. Shalom!
PRAYERS
1. Lord I open up my heart to listen for your voice today. Speak to me Lord; guide me and instruct as I go about my daily activities today in Jesus’ Name.
2. As I go about my daily activities today, I receive heightened sensitivity to God’s voice as He instructs and guides me.
3. Lord, grant me the wisdom to rightly appropriate divine cautions, and the grace to obey divine instructions.
Image Credit: proctorgallagherinstitute.com