Am I close enough to hear God?

Am I close enough to hear God?

^”The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.”

- 2 Chronicles 33:10

                Manasseh, King Manasseh, was leading the people of God to sin.  He had them build and sacrifice on the alters of other god’s, even sacrificing his son on them.  God’s anger was rising, and through the prophets, he spoke of events that would soon come that would eventually lead to Manasseh being taken as a prisoner.

                But before the Assyrian army came, God once again spoke to King Manasseh and his people. ..”but they paid no attention,” the bible says.  God was reaching out for their hearts, for their attention, so that they could repent, be made right in His sight – reconciled, and call out to the Lord.

                It’s easy for me to point and say, “Yeah…duh?! He deserved what he got, they got!”  But it’s always easy to point and say what was right and what was wrong in retrospect.  What’s difficult is turning what should have been an easy given answer and response, on their part, and turning that onto myself.  And that would be, “Is God speaking to me, to my fiancé?  And if He is, am I paying attention?”  Am I positioned to hear God?  Or am I like Manasseh, stuck in my ways, stuck in sin and being swept by the currents of my own desires and selfishness, that I cannot hear…that I am paying no attention to the God who is trying to get my attention before I am swept away by the consequences of my sin.

                I’m not perfect, and as most people say, “No one is.”  But that is not an excuse for me to be ignorant, lazy, or both in being receptive to God’s love.  Because that was what God was trying to do with Manasseh and his people.  He was trying to love them.  Yes, God was angry at their sins, but I believe that he was even angrier knowing what would befall him and the Israelites if they did not turn to God, did not hear His warnings and change their ways.

                The best thing for me to do is to daily come before the Lord and pay attention.  To leave my heart and mind open to Him, that he can prune, change, and grow me from the inside out, before trouble comes (because times of trouble will always come).  The question is whether I have my rock, a solid foundation and place of refuge to go when such times do come.  The more frequent my “check-ups” are with God, the healthier, the closer my heart will be to the Lord.

Ask yourself:

                Are my thoughts going astray?  Are the things on my mind pleasing to God, or are they displeasing?  Do they make me want to be closer to God, or shame me and want to hide?

                Ask yourself these things, and be honest with yourself, be honest with God.  Speak with Him and allow Him to make the necessary corrections and heart adjustments so that we may be close and I am positioned to receive not just his love and blessings, but his strength and protection through troubled times.

Be close to God.