LET THAT SINK IN

#truth #letthatsinkin

Don’t you just love it when God’s word confirms itself to you? God’s word is consistent & completely true, but I love it when God seems to line up the message to fit perfectly together in a way that challenges & teaches you. As I read my bible today it seemed to do just that. I have been reading the Proverb that coincides with the day (so Proverbs 9 today) along with other books. Today I was also looking at Micah (I decided to go back to the minor prophet books because they seem to get a little forgotten). Honestly I was not expecting to get anything super challenging or revolutionary from Micah… don’t judge me, my expectations were just low (hehe). Proverbs 9:7-9 made me stop… think… digest… and read it again. “Did I get that? Hmmm…”

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.

At first glance, I thought, “That makes so much sense. People who are acting dumb (mockers, fools, wicked men, however you wish to refer to them) don’t like to be told they are acting dumb. People who are living out of the will of God don’t want to be told they are living outside of His will. They want to pretend like everything is good, like they are good. Then I kept reading; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. Hmmm, I want to be wise. I pray for wisdom. But I don’t necessarily love it when someone rebukes me, especially when I need it. That can be a tough pill to swallow. Some times it hurts, but to gain wisdom and understanding it apparently is necessary.

Fast forward to Micah. I read on about how Micah is prophesying & people want him to shut up. The king, other prophets, the priests, all people of supposed wisdom are trying to keep him quiet, why? Because he is saying things that they don’t want to hear. Here is Micah, standing in the place for God speaking wisdom and understanding to people who refuse to listen. Micah 3:5-7 says,

This is what the Lord says:

As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim ‘peace’; if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him. Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will cover their faces because there is no answer from God.

They didn’t want to hear what God had to say, so God stopped speaking. Wow. Now that would be scary. This concept made me think about myself. Am I allowing people to speak correction into my life? And more importantly, am I allowing God to speak correction into my life? I would hate to wake up one day to find that because I didn’t want to listen to what He had to say, God had stopped speaking. I have written out 5 non-negotiables for my life, things I will not budge on, and one of those is “His voice is the one that I will listen to,” and another is “To always be teachable, moldable, and humble.” Those are things I want to live by always.

Today’s truth reminded me if I want to seek wisdom that is going to mean hearing the difficult truth some times. It will mean receiving rebuke and correction from God and from God-led people. Don’t reject it. Don’t get defensive. Accept it. Embrace it. Love it. And I would challenge you to do the same.