I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, “What have I done?”
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into battle
Emerging from my 1o day long Section Field Camp, I’ve been experiencing somewhat of a spritual drought – a parchedness where God’s voice seems so distant and far off. Whenever I pray about it, I find that God leads me to the same conclusion – I’m not listening to Him enough.
I used to think that I was a good listener, but as of late, I’ve thought otherwise. Just last night, I was speaking to my parents over the phone. I truly love my mum and dad, and my bona fide intent of last night’s call was to catch up with them – yet when the call finally materialized, I found myself too tired and distracted to pay full attention to what they were saying. Our conversation was punctuated by my constant asking of, “can you repeat that again?”
Thankfully, my mum was understanding – yet I knew she must have felt really frustrated with the fact that I wasn’t listening.
In Jeremiah 7, I realised that God also felt that same frustration with his wayward chosen people Israel. Just look at the feelings He expresses in the following verses:
“…I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer”
Jeremiah 7:13
And listening isn’t simply about hearing, it’s also about obedience, that’s why God says:
Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walkied in the counsels and imaginations of their evil heart…
Jeremiah 7:24
Who says that God doesn’t speak? I think God’s trying to speak to us all the time – He desires a conversation with us, but we never set aside the time to listen to Him, or obey what he says. When we listen to Him, we just brush aside His words as superficial. We carelessly lay aside the precious gems of wisdom that He tries to offer to each and every one of us.
—
And God inclines His ear, as in the verse at the beginning of this verse. But the response he hears is startling. There is no man who is truly repentant, and who truly realises the waywardness of his heart. All there is are superficially utterings of “Peace, peace!” [Jeremiah 8:11] and “The temple of the Lord are these” [Jeremiah 7:4]. The people, instead of repenting, are comforting themselves with lies.
I think we need to ask ourselves if we too comfort ourselves with lies. Maybe there’s something God has already told us that we haven’t acted on. Maybe there’s a sin we’ve yet to repent of, and we’ve been putting it aside, comforting ourself with the lie that God is loving and it’ll be ok.
Be silent, and listen.
Listen instead of always talking and giving excuses.
—
the people were like horses that rushed in battle. They carried out their own plans – they executed what they thought was right without first consulting God’s wisdom. I know many people, including myself, tend to do this. We’re so spontaneous sometimes that we forget to consult God in prayer and consider if what we’re doing is right.
In our rashness, we sometimes go ahead with our good intentions, only to ruin God’s perfect plan. We need to know ‘the judgment of the Lord’ [Jeremiah 8:7]- His good timings, His intents.
And the only way to know, is to listen.
—
That’s why we all need silence…
For the Lord our God has put us to silence…
Because we have sinned against the Lord
Jeremiah 8:14
Let [a man] sit alone and keep silent
Because God has laid it on him…
There may yet be hope.
Lamentations 3:28
Sometimes God imposes silence on us.
Sometimes He just forces us to listen to Him.
Him shutting up is a way of forcing us to start seeking His voice again.
Him shutting up is a way of telling us that we need to repent of our lack of listening.
—
O Lord, please help me to listen to you better
and let me hear your sweet voice again.
I’m sorry.