Paying No Attention to God
We're looking at how Manasseh, the king of Judah, was more influenced by the culture around him than the God of the Scriptures. 2 Chronicles 33:10 says this: "The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention."
Are you paying attention to God and His Word? Remember, in our day, God's voice is heard through His revealed Word. The Bible is our place to hear God speaking. Are you paying attention, to this treasury of God's revelation? Or are you falling into the trap that Manasseh fell into - ignoring the Word of the Lord?
The Word as God's Gold Mine
I love these words from C Neil Strait, a Nazarene preacher and writer, who said: "We must go to the Word in all our circumstances. The Word is a gold mine of resources, waiting to comfort, inspire, and instruct us. God wants our attention when we read the Word because He knows what life needs and knows the Word can resource our needs. Dr Otto Piper said, 'There is enough undiscovered truth in the Scriptures to produce a Reformation and an evangelical awakening in every generation'. If there is that much truth in the Word, then there is certainly something in it to meet our individual needs."
Powerful stuff. The Word of God is sufficient to meet our individual needs - to comfort, to inspire, to instruct, to equip, to encourage. Are we going to the Word for these things? Are we taking the time to give our attention to God's Word, or are we, like Manasseh and his people, paying no attention to God's voice?
Hearing Without Doing
On the other hand, are we hearing or reading the Word of God but doing nothing about it? Remember, Jesus said that if you hear His teachings but don't put them into practice, you have a flimsy faith that will break apart when troubles come. James also said that if you hear the Word but don't put it into practice, it's like looking at yourself in a mirror and then promptly forgetting what you look like when you turn away. Think about your own interaction with God's Word, in church and in your private life. Do you simply receive it and then forget or ignore it? Or do you put it into practice?
I'm sure you know how frustrating it is when people do that to you - they hear you but they aren't really listening and so your words become pointless. How must God feel, when He speaks but we don't pay attention? Surely our great God deserves more than our half-listening ears. He deserves our full attention and effort.
May we be better than Manasseh, because we hear God and we act on what He says.
