Hear and Obey
Have you ever found yourself in a perpetual cycle? Maybe you’ve seen the same cycle in your family. It could be a cycle of sickness, broken relationships, lack of finances, or family drama.
You do everything you know to do in an effort to get out of the situation, only to find yourself right back in it again. There’s no fruit to show for the seeds you’ve carefully planted and nurtured. It often feels like there is a thief in the night stealing your progress and hope. Oftentimes, this cycle can go on for so long that we become comfortable merely trying to make ends meet or comfortable in a broken relationship that has grown numb to the love that was once so vibrant. We begin to accept our situation as our permanent lot in life. We might even start to believe that the consequences we face are fixed and unchangeable, that nothing will ever shift in our favor. We try to do better with our health because we’re exhausted from feeling sick all the time, but when we fail, we quickly become discouraged and give up altogether. There are people and situations we are faithfully believing Abba for, yet it feels like a solid brick wall we just can’t break through, and out of frustration, we lash out or lose hope. How long has this exhausting cycle been going on for you?
For the Israelites in Judges 6, it was seven years. They disobeyed what Abba was calling them to and did their own thing, and it cost them. “Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The crushing power of the Midianites overwhelmed Israel, forcing the Israelites to make hiding places for themselves in caves and mountain strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted any crops, and before they could reap the harvest, the Midianites would come with the Amalekites and other desert tribes and invade the land. They would camp in their fields and destroy their crops as far as Gaza. They would seize all their sheep, cattle, and donkeys. They left nothing for the Israelites to live on. When they invaded the land with their livestock and camels and tents, they were as numerous as locusts, leaving the land desolate.”
They found themselves enslaved again. Every seed they planted the enemy would come and steal it. They would seem to gain some sort of ground in those seven years but then the enemy would take again. This cycle kept repeating over and over. The Israelites felt defeated. Have you ever felt defeated in life? We all have at some point.
We can learn from the Israelites. “Then the Israelites, with shattered hearts, cried out to Yahweh for mercy.” “When the Israelites, with shattered hearts, cried out to Yahweh because of the Midianite oppression, he sent them a prophet with this message: “Listen to the words of Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘I delivered you from Egypt and from a life of slavery. I snatched you from the brutality of the Egyptians. I rescued you from the people who invaded this land and fought against you. I drove them out as you advanced, and I gave their land to you. I told you that I am Yahweh your God, and that you must not worship the false gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you did not listen to my voice.”
Disobedience brought many problems. They forgot they were Yahweh’s children. We often focus on problems and forget who we are. Remember your Abba and stop looking at the obstacles ahead. Do we want to live as landowners or as slaves? The answer is simple but requires two things: hear and obey.
Today, let’s cry out to Abba for our lives, for our marriages, for our children, and our communities. Cry out for mercy. Ask Him to help you hear His voice. Ask Him to show you where you’ve been disobedient and then choose to obey what He speaking to you. Whatever He is asking you can trust Him to walk you through it.
We break the cycle today, in Jesus’ name!
