Listen & Do
“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!”
Psalm 81:13 (NKJV)There was a song I used to teach to my preschool class called, “Listen & Do.” The song gave various directions: “Clap your hands softly, walk forward, walk backward,” etc. and then we sang the refrain: “Listen and do, listen and do. Can you listen and do?”
That’s a good question to ask ourselves: can we listen and do? Of course we can, but will we? Will we listen and do? Will we listen to our parents and do what they say? Will we listen to God and do what He says? Will we read His word and obey it?
In this verse from Psalm 81, the Lord says, Oh if my people would just listen to Me, if they would walk in My ways. In other words, if only God’s people would listen and do! Was God being “mean”? Not at all. He knew what was best for them and wanted to bless them. The Psalm goes on to say that if His people listened and obeyed, He would quickly subdue their enemies, and He would have fed them with the finest of wheat and honey.
But they chose to go their own way instead, worshipping other gods and doing what was right in their own eyes. And so, God could not bless them. It’s not that He didn’t want to, but the people prevented God blessing them.
We may also miss God’s blessings when we fail to “listen and do.” He speaks to us through His word and in prayer. When we see or hear God’s commands, we need to obey them. We need to listen to our parents and teachers and do what they say. They have our best interest at heart and they know what will truly be best for us.
The children of Israel never seemed to learn that lesson. After God delivered them from Egypt, they would not do what God said. In fact, no matter what He did for them, they complained. Finally God left them to wander in the desert for 40 years and they never got to enter the promised land. What a shame! What great blessings they missed.
Let them be an example to us, so that we do not follow their disobedient ways. Instead, let’s do as the songs says: Listen & Do!
Copyright, 2007, Laurie Latour.
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