Blog Bio My Way-or God’s
LISTEN! WHO ME?
Read: Proverbs 1:1-7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.--Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)
I remember my dad trying to replace the plug on a lamp cord. Dad was very handy, always able to fix anything around the house that needed fixing. This simple job had him stumped. He struggled and struggled with a job he thought he understood, growing more and more frustrated by the minute.
Again and again, he stripped the wires, shortening the cord a bit each time. Finally, totally exasperated, Dad picked up the plug box and found the directions. He read them. To his chagrin, he discovered this particular plug was a new “easy” install type.
All he needed to do was lay the cord, as it was, in the groove and snap on the cover--no stripping, no connecting tiny wires. How foolish I could see he felt as he completed a five-minute job in about an hour. How much needless frustration he caused himself.
How often could this be you or me?
“No one is going to tell me what to do?” That includes listening to good advice or reading directions. Who makes these claims? The tough kid who skips school. The teenage girl sneaking out to meet her boyfriend. The young marrieds in the throes of their first big disagreement. The employee who doesn’t like a new, common-sense regulation.
How often do we, in essence, use this phrase in our Christian life? When we ignore God’s Word, ignore communicating with him, ignore the fellowship with His people, we are telling God, “I don’t want to do things Your way. I’ll do it MY way.”
Because we’re “saved”, because we claim the name of Jesus, we think we’ll escape the consequences of our rebellion, but rebellion is still rebellion. We go our way and end up with disaster, depression, chaos, and emptiness in our lives.
How much pain and hurt and frustration do we need to go through before we’re willing to come back to Jesus for forgiveness, read His instructions, and follow His directions for our lives? He’s not there to kill our “fun,” but to help us find the richest life possible--a life meant only for those who follow Christ in His will and way. Time to commit to read and study God’s Word and to talk to Him.
Dear Lord, forgive me for trying to do life my way, not yours. Help me take the time to read Your directions each day and to listen when You speak to my heart and mind. Amen.
Meditations:
Monday: II Timothy 3:16-17
Tuesday: II Samuel 12:1-14; Psalm 51
Wednesday: Proverbs 2
Thursday: Psalm 113
Friday: James 4
Saturday: Proverbs 3
(c) 2018 Carolyn R Scheidies
From Listen! Who Me?
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