[God] said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
Our Lord is a God who speaks and reveals things. He spoke to the people of Israel through Moses, who wrote the words of our verse for today after rescuing the people from thirst at the waters of Marah. Moses recorded the words and now they speak to anyone who reads them or hears them read. Even though the Bible was written at a specific point in time, the principles and applications are timeless.
Consequently, we have no good grounds to complain that God has not sufficiently revealed Himself to us. If there is a problem, the fault lies with us and not with Him. Indeed, the Bible says that He has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We have the revelation we need. He has said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye” (Psalm 32:8).
The Lord God has even revealed to us what to do if there is a communication problem in our verse for today: heed diligently. The nation of Israel had just witnessed the power of God in their deliverance from Egypt, and now they had God speaking directly to them. We also have God’s words in the Bible, ready for hearing, but we must pay heed. We must diligently pay heed to His voice. Instead of getting caught up in the hurly-burly of life, we must turn to Him and listen with diligence. When we complain about not hearing from God, perhaps the problem is that we’re simply not paying attention.
After listening diligently, we must apply the word to our lives. We must do what He says we should do. When we complain about not hearing from God, perhaps we don’t really want to hear what He’s saying. Perhaps the Lord is not happy with the way we are living our lives. Perhaps He has something to say about it.
Examine your heart, friend. Examine the Word of God and apply it.
By John Huisman
