So How’s It Really Going In Your Life

What do you know that you are not following? I know, that’s a pretty general question. But today I read:

“So the words of the LORD will be, ‘A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there.’ They will fall back and be defeated; they will be trapped and captured.” (Isaiah 28:13 NCV)

I suppose you have to know a little about Isaiah and his mission to really understand this. The leaders of Judah had grown tired of hearing Isaiah’s warnings. God was trying to speak to them through Isaiah, but instead of listening, they mocked him. It was almost like they were saying, “Here comes Isaiah again with another little rule, another little lesson.”

HOW TRANSFORMATION HAPPENS

God is patient, and He had warned them again and again, but they refused to listen. So God turned their mockery back on them. He left them to themselves.

I don’t know about you, but transformation and real change rarely happen in one giant moment for me. Most of the time, it happens little by little. Forgive that person. Stop holding the grudge. Stop judging. Tell the truth. Watch your temper. Give generously. Call someone. Apologize. Pray. Read His Word. Just do the next right thing. Right?

For me, true change has happened over years by practicing what God is teaching me. I have learned through my mistakes, my sins, my selfishness, and doing it right. And especially through confession, committing to change, and seeking forgiveness.

REAL CHANGE

Real change did not happen because I suddenly knew more. It happened when I began doing something with what God was showing me.

Maturity, especially spiritual maturity, comes through time and through small acts of surrender and obedience. But the opposite is also true. Like the leaders during Isaiah’s time, hearing God’s Word and doing very little with it can slowly erode us.

CONCLUSION

So how is your growth—or erosion—process going?

Do you, me, any of us, hear the Word of God, let it make us feel good for a moment, and then…nothing? No real change? No maturity? No obedience? Over time, we can become so familiar with God’s truth that it no longer moves us. That is exactly what had happened to the leaders in Isaiah’s day.

So maybe the prayer isn’t, “Lord, show me something new.”

Maybe it’s, “Lord, show me what You have already told me that I am still not obeying.”

God’s Word isn’t meant to be just a little truth here and a little lesson there that we collect along the way. It is supposed to change our lives.

GOD, help me digest Your words, ponder them, pray about them, journal about them, internalize them, and then actually practice them in my everyday life. Your words change lives. Help them change me. IJNIP amen ♥️