Obeying God

“Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.” (Proverbs 1:24).
A godly man does not refuse to hear God’s voice when He calls, and he does not reject God’s hand when He offers His help. Men can sometimes be so prideful that they refuse assistance from anyone-even God. Still, God constantly reaches out to us and speaks to our hearts. He actively pursues us, yet we remain aloof. We hide, like Adam in the garden, afraid to face God because of our disobedience. “I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.” (Isaiah 66:4). “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.” (Zechariah 7:11). A godly man heeds the voice of God, even if He rebukes him. He reaches up to take the hand of God when he is in the pit of tribulation and despair. He knows that only God is able to lift him out of the “horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set [his] feet upon a rock, and establish [his] goings.” (Psalm 40:2). A godly man seeks to obey God and to do those things that please Him. Men of God, we need to examine our lives daily to ensure that we live the faith we proclaim with our lips. Do our actions mirror our profession, or are we godly men in name only? Do we listen for the still small voice of God, or are we too busy doing the “work of the Lord” that we miss the Lord altogether?