Most of us are quick to recognize the truth of this statement in others, especially those who are younger than us. But the truth of the matter is that regardless of our age or stage in life, all of us have times when we are tempted to listen to voices that tell us what we want to hear.
This was Ahab's problem (2 Chronicles 18). He wanted to attack. He had a lot of people cheering him on. But there was one lone voice who refused to go along with the crowd. This lone voice gave Ahab great advice...advice Ahab wouldn't hear. And, as a result, Ahab was killed in battle.
But this isn't just a story about kings who lived a long time ago. Most of the greatest regrets in our lives can be directly linked to voices who were telling us what we wanted to hear. The lone voice of reason was there, and we knew it was telling us the truth. But we went ahead anyway. And we paid the price. We've lost relationships. We've lost reputations. We've lost homes. We've lost clear consciences.
The good news is that when we are making decisions, if we are seeking God's face, the voice will be there. And then we have a decision to make. We will either drown out the voice, or we will listen to it.
Next Sunday, we'll talk about listening to Wisdom. The following week, we'll talk about hearing God's voice. But for now, consider the following five questions:
- Who are you listening to?
- Who do you need to quit listening to?
- Who should you be listening to?
- What do you not want to hear, but need to?
- Whose advice are you resisting b/c you don’t like the person giving it?
No comments:
Post a Comment