Numbers 14 is a tragic passage. Look it up and read it before going on so you know the story I’m referencing. The children of Israel rejected God’s promises and refused to enter the land. We read the words and we shake our heads in disbelief. How, we ask—how could they do such a thing? After all God had promised, after all He was going to provide – victory over their enemies, peace in their lifetime, and good things abounding in their lives.
In verse 11 God asks something stunning: “How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?” Then again in verse 27: “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.”
The Bible tells us to wait on God, and we get that. We’ve surrendered our lives and our futures to Him, and we are waiting for Him to show us His will, and that is a wonderful thing. But does God ever have to wait on us? Does He ever need to ask of us, “How long until they obey?”
When I text someone, I expect an instant response to my question. But sometimes, when someone texts me, I won’t answer right away. I have lots of reasons why. Sometimes I have no idea how to respond, but more often than not, I don’t want to get myself into what might be a sticky situation, so sometimes I just don’t reply. I turned off sending read receipts on my iPhone so they can’t tell if I’ve read their text or not, and use the non-personal approach to my advantage.
How often do we respond that way to God? We listen to sermons, we read the Bible, we talk about serving God, and what do we do afterwards? Do we follow through? Nope. We agree with what we hear about what the Bible says (probably because it’s kind of futile not to) but when it comes down to it, we don’t follow through. We’re content with “doing church” without ever discovering truth for ourselves.
We want to serve God. We want to hear His voice. We wouldn’t be part of Thee Generation if we didn’t. Our generation has a problem, though. We think we’re okay with God because we have a “zeal” for Him (Rom. 10:2) but just like Israel we reject Him over and over and we don’t even realize it. We think (not even realizing that we think it) that our spirituality comes from the fact that we learn about Him in church, singing in the choir, sitting in Sunday School, listening to the sermon, hearing about Him from those around us who know Him.
But God asks, “How long?” How long is it going to be until we stop playing around with spirituality and start obeying Him? Look up Psalm 95:7-8 and Hebrews 3:7-8, 15 and 4:7 and read them. God says, “today if you will hear my voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” He’s speaking to us, but many times we don’t hear. We’re distracted with sports games, viral videos, and bestselling books. If we do hear Him, we don’t obey Him, and that’s a problem. We do what we like and we like what we do, just being “normal teens,” wasting the best years of our life.
Look, if God tells you to do something, do it. If He tells you to delete an app, do it. If He tells you to help your mom with the dishes, do it. If He tell you to help your little sibling with school, do it! If you make excuses about why you don’t need to do what He says, you’re fooling yourself. You’re just like the Israelites, professing spirituality but not living it out. If you would serve God, listen for His voice. When you hear what He wants you to do, do it.
The Gospel is supposed to change everything about us – our thoughts, our motives, and our actions. Honestly though, for many of us, we’re so used to the ways things are that we don’t know how to hear God. During these next few days (especially since we’ve got lots of extra time!), let’s take a step back and use that extra time to meet with God, reading His Word, learning His voice, and simply obeying.
Victoria White is a graduate of Baptist College of Ministry and a member of Falls Baptist Church in Menomonee Falls, WI. She has a burden for young people to understand the Bible and to live for God in this world. She has 6 siblings and lives in Germantown, WI.
