“My people heard not my voice, and Israel obeyed me not; so I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts; they walked according to their own counsels. If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, quickly would I humble their enemies; against their foes I would turn my hand.” (Psalm 81: 12-15)
The Lord beckons us to follow in his ways. He constantly reminds us that, “my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Yet we often choose to do things our way. We are his children and he loves us so much. Out of his love for us, he gives us free will. If love isn’t given freely than it isn’t love. If we choose to not obey God then he allows us to walk according to our own counsels. This is when we find ourselves facing our enemies alone. We may struggle to do what is right but to no avail. In today’s Psalm, he tells us that if only we would walk in his ways and not our own, then he would humble our enemies. God doesn’t tell us that we won’t face enemies if we follow him but he will protect us from them and he will not allow us to be defeated by them.
In today’s gospel, the deaf man was brought to Jesus, I am guessing by his friends or family, and they begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. They wanted Jesus to open his ears so that he could hear. My friends that know my struggles take me to Jesus in prayer and beg him to lay his hand on me. They want me to be healed but sometimes I interfere with this. I know that God speaks to me but sometimes it is hard for me to discern what is coming from him. The devil often presents things to us in a way that is intriguing to us. He causes us to doubt ourselves and to be confused by what we are hearing. Is this coming from God or is it my own desire? Does God really want me to be in this place or am I here because this is where I want to be?
Dear Lord, open my heart to your love for me. Open my ears to listen to the words of your Son and give me the courage to walk in your ways. Amen.
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