Are You Listening?

A family in Calgary, Alberta, Canada purchased a well-trained and very expensive guard dog to protect their home and belongings. It brought them great peace and comfort and reduced their fears of someone invading their home.

One evening as the family gathered together to watch their favorite television program, the dog began to bark. “Hush, Sarge,” said the father. But Sarge refused to stop barking and looked anxiously from one family member to another. They refused to be bothered as they watched the show. It was too entertaining.

Finally, the program was over, and the father excused himself and went upstairs to go to bed. As he entered his bedroom, he realized that the dog had been trying to get their attention. A thief had carefully and quietly entered their home, opened their safe and stolen their most valuable possessions. The repeated warnings of the dog could not get their attention to alert them to danger. The value of his warnings went unheeded.

“Today,” (or - a more literal translation - “listen to Me now”) warned the Psalmist, “if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts!” Often God tries to “get our attention” to warn us of impending dangers. He does His best to speak to us through His Word or a friend, a verse of Scripture or a sermon. He reaches out to us in love and compassion - anxious to warn us of the attractiveness of self-destructive behaviors that destroy us. The power of temptation blinds us from seeing destruction that awaits us. But, like the family in Canada, we are so often too involved in the things of this world to hear His warning.

Prayer:  Lord, open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, and our minds to be alert to the temptations we face constantly. May we listen for Your voice. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today: Today, if only you would hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah. Psalm 95:7b-8