Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build . . .” (Nehemiah 2:20, ESV)
One job you did not want in the Bible was the job of the prophet. They were thrown into cisterns, put into prison, and martyred. No one seemed to want to hear what a prophet had to say and they went out of their way to silence them.
Isaiah was told that the people would keep on hearing, but would not understand; the would keep on seeing, but would not perceive (see Isaiah 6:9). In other words, they would reject the words of the prophets.
The reason no one wanted to hear what the prophets had to say was that what the prophets spoke was the truth. The truth is not always the most popular because the truth will often hurt. One of the most famous movie quotes from A Few Good Men is “You can’t handle the truth.” And there is some truth to that! There are many times we don’t want the truth. But we need the truth!
The truth is hard when it is unpleasant. But if we are to live in the prosperity and the abundance that God desires for us, we will need to wrestle with the truth even when it is hard to hear. Especially when it is hard to hear!
Who is speaking truth into your life that you don’t want to hear? Who is the prophet in your life you have silenced? Maybe it is a spouse. Maybe it is a friend. Maybe it is a pastor. Maybe it is your boss. Maybe it is a critic. Yes, sometimes criticism is off base. But you can still find a bit of truth in the most off based criticism.
We all have seen the singing competition where the person who cannot carry a tune makes a fool of themselves on national television. They thought they were going to win the million dollars. But they ended up embarrassed in front of millions of people because they never had anyone speak the truth into their life or they ignored when the truth was spoken to them. Don’t be the fool and dismiss the truth.
Reflection
- Why is the truth hard to hear?
- Why do we need the truth if we are to experience abundance?
Prayer
Lord, humble my pride to accept the truth. Help me to learn where I have room to grow and ways I have to mature. Fill me with your Holy Spirit to be hearing and always understanding, seeing and always perceiving so that I might walk in your abundance. Amen.
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