In the second part of Psalm 81, God says these words to the nation of Israel, "Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—if you would only listen to me, Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices." The biggest reason the Israelites worshipped the gods in the land was because they wanted to be like the people in the land. They wanted to do whatever they wanted, regardless of what God said. Many gods in the land promoted all kinds of sin, such as sexual immorality, materialism, and self-indulgence. As a result, God gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. God stopped encouraging them to follow His ways. He let their sinful desire control them. And because of this, they destroyed themselves with sin.
Sin can bring excitement and happiness, but in the end, it will lead only to despair and destruction. It is like committing a crime and paying for it later in life. God wants us to walk in His ways because it brings life to us no matter our situations. Let us listen to God if we want to save ourselves from the consequences of sin. Nothing good can come out of committing adultery, any type of sexual sin, selfishness, pride, materialism, jealousy, anger, rage, stealing, lying, judgmental attitude, taking drugs, drunkenness, or any other sin. Recently, a pastor who is pastoring one of the largest churches in Dallas, TX, was guilty of molesting a 12-year-old girl nearly 25 years ago. The pastor was already in the ministry then. His past sin finally caught up to him. Let us be very careful in making our decisions, especially when it is involving sin. Let us not give in to our sinful desires by surrendering our ways to our God and asking God to give us the strength to overcome our desire to sin.
We need to listen to God because He knows what is best for us. If He says don't do it, let us not do it. We need to listen to Him in whatever He is telling us because it gives us abundant life, joy, and peace.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What are the consequences of sin? Why is it important for me to listen to God? What are the things I can do to continue to follow God's instructions?
Take a moment to write down all the worries you face today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for encouraging me this morning to not give in to my sinful desires. Please help me to continue to walk in your way so that I may have joy, peace, and an abundant life. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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