Listening to the One Who Loves Us
Heart Prep
Father, show me how to listen to You and follow in obedience.
Psalm 32:8-9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.”
God’s love amazes me. You see, He created all that exists: me, you, your friends, your parents, this world, the animals, everything. After sin entered the world He went a step further. He made a way for us to be in a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, we would be completely lost and would spend eternity in Hell. But He didn’t stop there! He knew that, even while being in a relationship with Him, we would get lost and off-track sometimes. So He tells us in Psalm 32:8-9 that He will be there to teach us the way we should go, and give us counsel. He keeps His eye on us so that He can take care of us, and lead and guide us! He could have just saved us and left us to live our lives, but He knew we would need constant guidance. What a gracious God to make sure we have everything we need.
The second part of these verses tells us that we have some responsibility as well. If you have any experience with horses or mules, you know one thing: they are strong animals. And they don’t always want to do what you want them to do; you have to have a bit and bridle to get them to go your way. God tells us in this Psalm that He will tell us the way we should go. What does He want from us? Obedience. He wants us to go at His command, obey without a fight, listen and come when He calls, have an understanding of Who He is, and follow Him wherever He leads us. He watches over us, loves us, and wants to lead us to good things.
Life Application
What is something God is asking me to do?
What does following Him and obeying mean in that situation?
Write out something you need to do in order to be obeying what God is telling you.