“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes…” Exodus 15:26a
How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?
Me too.
I wish it were easier to make changes for the better, but someone once said that anything worthwhile bears difficulty. The difficult part is retraining our own thinking.
After the Israelites came through the Red Sea, God had something in mind for them that may go unnoticed. He was testing them or training them. A fair question may be, for what? His own chosen people were now set apart for his service. Simple. Right?
They had learned servitude in its’ worst form to a power-hungry Pharoah. At one point this ruler was harsh enough to hurt his own profit to make the work harder for his slaves. Eventually, he is even willing to sacrifice his son in order to prove his position of power.
Serving the LORD would be different, radically different.
God wanted his children’s obedience. Therein lies the training. They had to learn to obey their God by diligently listening to his voice and keeping his statutes.
Diligently listening.
Of all the things we can be diligent in this New Year, maybe what needs to rise to the top is to listen to the voice of the LORD.
He wants our obedience, not because He’s building a grand kingdom for Himself and is power-hungry. But rather because He wants us there with Him enjoying a relationship with Him so much so that He was willing to give His son for us.
Dear One, let today be the day you commit to diligently listening to the voice of our LORD for He loves you and desires a relationship with you. That is why He has delivered you.