But until now you have not listened. (Ex. 7:16)
My husband and his siblings met at their mother’s house one evening, bonding together to have a difficult talk with her. They’d begun to notice a few things that concerned them, and while none of them wanted to hurt her feelings, they felt the time had come to bring their observations to her attention. She received them graciously, made a doctor’s appointment, and within a week, she learned she had a brain tumor. Suddenly, all the things her children had noticed made sense. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor and will receive treatment in the next phase of recovery. The doctors told her if she hadn’t come in when she did, she wouldn’t have lived long.
It’s not pleasant to hear difficult news. Moses and Aaron learned that firsthand when they confronted Pharaoh about letting the Israelites go. They delivered God’s message to him: “But until now, you have not listened.” His failure to listen brought about the first of many consequences, which we now call the plagues. If only Pharaoh had listened, things could have gone very differently for his nation and his own family.
What about you? Are you listening to the messages God sends your way? He speaks to us through his Word, through his people, and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Are you really listening when he speaks?
Have attentive ears; we can’t obey what we don’t hear.
Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
