March 8th, 2022 – Very Early Tuesday Morning
“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.” ~Hebrews 12:25a
This line at the beginning of verse 25 is of vital importance for every single child of God to hear and comprehend. Not only does our survival and well-being depend on heeding its warning, but our entire lives ought to be oriented around its instruction. Why? Well, for the person who has been reconciled to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ, there can be no higher calling than to hear and obey the voice of our Father. [After all, it was His Spirit’s “voice” that brought us to Him in the first place (through convicting us of our sin).] We need Him and we need His guidance, wisdom, and revelation if we are to be the people He has called and equipped us to be. Not only that, but He ALWAYS knows best; it is for our own good that we must learn to be completely dependent on Him.
So what does this passage mean and how do we heed it? First off, this passage seems to follow the previous verses in warning the believer against an attitude of perversion or profanity while urging him to quickly submit to the discipline of the Father and to remember the glory of which he is a part of in Christ. Remember that the previous section (v.18-24) highlighted the overwhelming nature of the new and/versus old covenants; that should cause us to bow in humble awe at the splendor of our God and His salvation. In light of all that, it would seem that this passage is a warning (to the believer) to not be stubborn or hard-hearted against God.
Secondly, this passage requires at least three things from us: 1. We must recognize and know Him who is speaking; we must be children of God in Christ and we must be abiding in Christ (remaining in Him, understanding that He is the Vine and we cannot live without Him). If we are [abiding children of God], we will come to know Him more and more as we continue on in Christ; if we are not His abiding children, this passage (and devotional) can be summed up by saying that His speaking to us entails a call to utter brokenness over our sin and a humble repentance. 2. We must recognize and know His voice; we must allow Him to train our ears to hear His voice – even in the midst of the chaos of a thousand different sounds demanding our attention. It takes effort to develop a heart that is tuned to the Father; it requires faithful adherence to His Word (through personal study, infiltration, and application, corporate teaching, etc., of the Bible), a teachable heart, and an attitude of complete dependence on Him (through prayer, fasting, etc.), among other things.
3. We must stop, listen, and obey. Learning to differentiate His voice in our crazy, sin-stricken world is of absolute necessity, but so is putting everything on hold in order to listen to Him. There is nothing…make that NOTHING…more important than knowing and doing the will of our Father. But, how can we know and do His will if we don’t learn to know His voice and stop everything else to listen to it? [FYI, I am not talking about an audible voice (though He could certainly do that if He wanted) or a weird “God told me to do something crazy” kind of thing, but the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit living within us. This voice ALWAYS speaks in line with the Word of God (Scripture) and He ALWAYS speaks the truth; sometimes He reprimands, corrects, directs, and warns; sometimes He encourages, gives peace, empowers, and convicts; yet, He always calls us to deeper submission, deeper fellowship, and deeper unity in Christ.]
We could go on and on, I’m sure, but the point has clearly been made in our passage today. We must be careful to heed and submit to the voice of our Father. In order to do that, we must know Him and listen to Him; in order to do that, we must prioritize Him and His voice over everything else. Let us be diligent to seek His face; let us be deliberate in waiting on Him; and, let us not refuse Him when He speaks.