GOD SPEAKS

      In many cases our behavior is what hurts God the most. We do not even discern whether our conduct or our words offend Him. We take this lightly because He does not appear in front of us. But the mind of God is clearly visible to us in the Bible. He is constantly the same yesterday and today and forever. The eternal truth is that the more He rejoices over you, the more He grieves over your unwanted words and deeds. He will suffer greatly if you speak or act in a way that degrades you from the level He has placed you.

       To understand the mind of God let us examine His words from the Bible: ¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was furious and cried out to the Lord all night. 1 SAMUEL 15:10-11 [NASB].

       God chose Saul to be king. When the people of Israel asked Samuel a king over them, God chose Saul to be their king. God appointed him king over his people when Saul was an ordinary/insignificant man in his own eyes. [So Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. 1 SAMUEL 15:17 (NASB)]. The connection between Saul’s coming to this high position as king and his merit is not visible to us at all. The reason he was made king was by God’s free grace. How obedient should he be then?

       Lord sent King Saul on a mission, said : “Now go and strike Amalek and completely destroy everything that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”  But King Saul did not fully fulfill the word of God. He violated the command of the Lord because he feared the people and listened to their voice. So he spared the best of the sheep and oxen without killing. He took God’s command lightly. This is where he could not understand the mind of God. We likewise take the words of God lightly without consideration. The most important thing is to understand how ignoring God’s words can hurt Him. We cannot really estimate the serious consequences of doing so.

         Does God have any problem with the sheep and oxen there? Does God not want sheep or oxen to live? No. The problem here is all about listening to the Word of God or His commands. All He needs us to do is obey what He says. Because in that He rejoices in us so much. Samuel said, “Does the Lord have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice,   And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.” 1 SAMUEL 15:22. [NASB] Saul’s disobedience hurt God greatly. This is why we see it is written: Lord said to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” Saul did not maintain the trust that God had placed in him. Therefore, God regretted. If He is not listened to, He will not like it at all. We no longer need to talk about the consequences of not listening to him. Saul lost his opportunity / blessing to be king. The Lord rejected Saul from being king over Israel.

       This example from the Bible tells us how the mind of God responds. This is what we need to understand carefully. Many times we only think that God is angry when we do not listen to Him but we also need to notice how much God is also suffering.

       The mind of God has remained the same since time immemorial. Even at the beginning of creation we can see how God has suffered as well. This is another example of how He would suffer if we do not do what He has told.

       Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. ⁶ So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. GENESIS 6:5-6 [NASB]. God was deeply saddened by the lives of the people of that day. They did not live as God intended. God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. How God suffered when he saw people filled with lustful deeds and bad thoughts. We need to understand not only that God is angry when we disobey His Word, but that He will suffer greatly. Do not we know the outcome of the wrath of God? Was not everything destroyed by the flood?

        That is why we must be careful that our actions, thoughts and words do not offend Him. If you truly love Him you will not tolerate His suffering. So you see that your behavior is in accordance with His Word.

Make sure that your devotion is consistent and uniform in all situations. Do not be like a great believer in one context and an actual disregard for God in another. We all need consistent faith. Some people praise God so much if anything good happens. But if any hardship happens a little, they  do not think  that God cares about them. In such cases, we can see that their own decisions and actions can be detrimental.

Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh [b]with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son in his old age.” 8 And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. GENESIS 21:6-8 [NASB].

See what they did when they were happy. Sarah was very happy. She gave birth to a son in her old age. Abraham also held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. Abraham was also very happy. In this context, we can see how much this couple praised our God because Sarah herself testified – “God has made laughter for me”. The long-awaited promise has come true. If we are in those situations we will praise God just like they are. We praise or proclaim that God is responsible for the good we receive. 

How do we react if any difficult situation arises for us who praise like this? Do we put our trust in God in such cases? Can we boldly step forward to see that God Himself cares? In this context, let us see the following verse from the Bible. 

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. GENESIS 22:1-8.[NASB]. 

Now Abraham had to face a very difficult situation. God told Abraham to sacrifice [burnt offering] his son Isaac. He had to make a difficult decision about what he enjoyed so much. See how he reacted in this context. He felt that it was more important to hear the word of God than to love his son. He went to the place of which God had told him and prepared firewood, a sword, a fire, and altar. 

The conversation between Abraham and Isaac is important in this context: “So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  Abraham’s answer to his son Isaac tells us that God is all-seeing, so we must place our burden on Him. We see with Abraham the sense that God takes care of all my affairs, no matter how difficult the situation. Notice that God also set up a ram instead of Isaac. God stopped Isaac from being sacrificed by Abraham. Can we, like Abraham, lean on God and say that Jehovah Jireh, even under difficult circumstances? If so, God will show us the way of deliverance just as He showed Abraham.

They say that God has done many good things in their lives but they do not even hesitate to commit suicide when difficult problems arise. Where does their faith go?Is there any problem that God can’t solve?Because Abraham put all his burden on God, He showed Abraham the way to escape temptation/test. Abraham was able to a ram caught in the thicket by his horns and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. This verse from the Bible can strengthen you in this matter: No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.1 Corinthians 10: 13 [NASB]. Therefore, no matter what your circumstances, try to keep your faith with Him.