Exodus 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Let me first say this devotional has nothing to do with salvation. This is not a salvation issue. Having said that allow me to give you a rare thus saith the LORD.

“If you cannot hear me, it is not my fault.”

Why is it that believers feel like they never hear God? I understand non-believers making that claim, but why do so many Christians say it? I expect there are as many reasons as there are those who say it. We all like to think our reasons are special. Maybe they are, but I look to the bible and seek the examples set forth by the Word. Here is the first one.

“I don’t want to hear God speak to me.”

That isn’t just fear talking if you are thinking 20:19 is about fear. The “lest we die” part isn’t all about fear. Moses speaks directly to the issue in verse 20 with “that ye sin not”. Heaven forbid that the God who knows my every fault should call me on my sins and tell me to stop. It is much easier to listen to a pastor preach and every now and then when the subject of my sin comes up, I can lie to myself and say he must be talking about someone else. The pastor will never know. If he figures it out, I can always change churches.

That is about the weakest excuse I can think of because it still does not address what God thinks about what we are doing. This brings me around to point two.

Numbers 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

They have no respect for what the Word of God says.

More on this tomorrow.