READING: 2 Chronicles 23-25
Sometimes we just don’t listen when God has a message for us—and the price we pay is great. In today’s reading, Judah and Jerusalem “abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and served the Asherah poles and the idols” (2 Chron 24:18). The result was “wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs” (2 Chron 24:19). At the same time, though, God in grace “sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord . . . but the people would not listen” (2 Chron 24:19). God gave them opportunities to repent, but they rejected them. The result? God abandoned them just as they had abandoned Him (2 Chron 24:20).
Why do we, too, not always listen to the people God sends across our path to redirect us to Him as needed? Perhaps we’re so enamored with our sin that we’re just not interested in an immediate return. Maybe we’re banking on tomorrows to come and simply putting off what we know we need to do. It may be that we’ve chosen in arrogance not to pay attention to someone who confronts us. Or, it could even be that we really don’t know God personally in the first place.
Whatever our reasons for not listening may be, it’s just not wise to ignore the spokespersons God sends into our lives. May the Lord give us listening ears today!
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Who are those persons who speak into your life at this level?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, give me ears to hear—even when I don’t want to listen.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Chronicles 26-29