I sat down with 2 Kings 16 and 17 expecting to write about compromise. How could I not? King Ahaz trusted Assyria instead of trusting God. He brought a pagan altar back to Jerusalem because he liked what he saw in another culture. Instead of leading the culture, he allowed the culture to lead him.
Then chapter 17 tells the story we've been watching happen ever since Solomon. Israel is conquered, carried into exile, and everything finally falls apart. And as I was reading, I kept thinking, Well, there's today's devotion.
I was already writing it in my head. I was going to write about compromise. About drifting. About the danger of becoming more like the world than like Christ.
But then I got to chapter 17, and it's almost as if the story pauses. Instead of simply telling us what happened, God tells us why it happened. As I slowed down and read those verses, one sentence just kept pulling me back. "Again and again the Lord sent His prophets to warn both Israel and Judah" (2 Kings 17:13, NLT).
I couldn't move past it. Out of everything in these two chapters, the kings, the exile, the judgment, the idols, that was the verse that settled into my heart.
Again and again.
Those words tell me more about the heart of God than they do about the rebellion of Israel.
He didn't warn them once and walk away. He didn't stop speaking to them because they ignored Him. He didn't give up because they were being stubborn.
He kept reaching.
He kept warning.
He kept pursuing.
He kept calling His people home.
As I sat there with my Bible open, I realized I wasn't just reading Israel's story anymore.
I was remembering my own too. Looking back over my life, I can see so many moments where God was patiently calling me closer. Sometimes it was through His Word. Sometimes through a sermon. Sometimes through a conversation. Sometimes it was just that quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit that wouldn't leave me alone.
When I was carrying wounds I didn't know how to heal, He was calling me.
When I was trying to control everything instead of trusting Him, He was calling me.
When He was healing places in my heart that I thought would always stay broken, He was calling me.
Looking back now, I can see His fingerprints all over my story. He never forced me. He never abandoned me. He just kept calling me back.
That's what breaks my heart about these chapters. Israel didn't fall because God stopped loving them. Israel fell because, after years of hearing His voice, they stopped responding to it.
I know how easy it is to become distracted. To become so busy. To get so focused on doing things for God that I forget to just be with God. Hearing God's voice isn't just about asking Him to speak. It's also about preparing my heart to listen. Because if my heart is hard, If it's distracted, If it's filled with noise, I can miss the very thing He's trying to say.
I don't want to become someone who only hears God when life is falling apart. I want to live with a heart that's already listening. A heart that's soft and teachable amd quick to obey.
God didn't stop speaking. His people stopped preparing their hearts to hear his voice.
Love Pastor Mandy
MandiesDandies / Ark of Hope
Daily reading 2 Kings 16-17
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