Reading: Zechariah 5, 6, 7
My Verse: "But they refused to pay attention and turned
a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears
that they might not hear.
They made their hearts diamond-hard
lest they should hear the law
and the words that the LORD of hosts
had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets.
Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts"
(Zechariah 7:11-12).
This is so very clear, LORD God. We do make that decision to refuse to pay attention to the things that You teach us through Your Word - the Bible. You attempt to reach us through our own experiences, through other people and through events occurring around us. You do so many things to get our attention but if we do not like what You are saying we simply stop up our ears and turn away. We refuse to pay attention.
What a vivid image - "turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears." It is what we see children doing all the time. And yet this is exactly what we as adults do, too.
Then we harden our hearts, allowing our very ability to see and understand truth to become blurred. This is sad because it is progressive - the more we harden our heart the harder it becomes until it is"diamond-hard." We use blame and rationalization to justify ourselves when we know we are in the wrong. We lie to ourselves until we believe our very lies and become unable to see the reality of what we are doing. We become unable to see the consequences of our behavior. It is an awful downward spiral - like when Pharaoh kept refusing to listen to You, LORD God.
But we do not need to let ourselves go there! Many often say "Well, that is just the way I am." "That is just where I am right now." You tell us to cry out to You, LORD God! We cannot get there ourselves - we need you to bring us along.
"When the righteous cry for help,
the LORD hears and delivers
them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 35:17).
"And Jesus said to him. 'If you can!
All things are possible for one who believes.
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said,
I believe; help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24).
"Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' (Isaiah 58:9).
Thank You, LORD God for drawing me to You (John 6:44). Thank you for enabling me to see You and Your truth. Help me to pay attention when You need to correct me, when you need to keep me on the right path. Help me to not turn a stubborn shoulder or stop up my ears to You!
Help Me God - Kathy Broccoli
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "But they refused to pay attention and turned
a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears
that they might not hear.
They made their hearts diamond-hard
lest they should hear the law
and the words that the LORD of hosts
had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets.
Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts"
(Zechariah 7:11-12).
This is so very clear, LORD God. We do make that decision to refuse to pay attention to the things that You teach us through Your Word - the Bible. You attempt to reach us through our own experiences, through other people and through events occurring around us. You do so many things to get our attention but if we do not like what You are saying we simply stop up our ears and turn away. We refuse to pay attention.
What a vivid image - "turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears." It is what we see children doing all the time. And yet this is exactly what we as adults do, too.
Then we harden our hearts, allowing our very ability to see and understand truth to become blurred. This is sad because it is progressive - the more we harden our heart the harder it becomes until it is"diamond-hard." We use blame and rationalization to justify ourselves when we know we are in the wrong. We lie to ourselves until we believe our very lies and become unable to see the reality of what we are doing. We become unable to see the consequences of our behavior. It is an awful downward spiral - like when Pharaoh kept refusing to listen to You, LORD God.
But we do not need to let ourselves go there! Many often say "Well, that is just the way I am." "That is just where I am right now." You tell us to cry out to You, LORD God! We cannot get there ourselves - we need you to bring us along.
"When the righteous cry for help,
the LORD hears and delivers
them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 35:17).
"And Jesus said to him. 'If you can!
All things are possible for one who believes.
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said,
I believe; help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24).
"Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' (Isaiah 58:9).
Thank You, LORD God for drawing me to You (John 6:44). Thank you for enabling me to see You and Your truth. Help me to pay attention when You need to correct me, when you need to keep me on the right path. Help me to not turn a stubborn shoulder or stop up my ears to You!
Help Me God - Kathy Broccoli
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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