If you insist
There are two statements in Scripture that seem to be at odds with each other. On the one hand, Psalm 23 ends with the line:
“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."
~ Psalm 23:6
This verse paints a beautiful picture of the love of God. It's a love that pursues us all the days of our lives and never gives up on us. God always desires our best and always works to bring us into a flourishing life. Nothing (not even our own brokenness) can separate us from that love.
On the other hand, we have these words from Psalm 81:
“But no, my people wouldn’t listen.
Israel did not want me around.
So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
living according to their own ideas.
Oh, that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!"~ Psalm 81:11-13
These verses paint a more sobering picture. Yes, God pursues us with love. Yes, his greatest desire is to lead us and all creation into a flourishing life with him, and for that reason when we make bad choices he will try to guide us back to abundant living. However, if we insist on our own way, he will allow us to follow our desires, even the unhealthy ones.
In this way he is like the father of the prodigal son who, although knowing where his son's choices would lead, gave him his inheritance and allowed him to leave.
It is a loving action to give a person autonomy and not try to control them, but it also causes us great pain to watch that person's life turn into a dumpster fire. We may offer help, but if the person refuses to turn from their own stubborn desires, we can only lament, pray, and continue to love.
So what does this mean for our relationship with God?
First, it means our life with God is built entirely on the foundation of his unfailing love. He initiates, he pursues, he speaks to the deepest needs of our soul, and we respond. All of life with God is a response to God's life with us.
Second, it means our choices mean something. Our choices can lead to joy or pain, life or death, flourishing or struggling. This is not to say every time we struggle it means we've made a bad choice somewhere (the road to flourishing is not all cupcakes and rainbows; there be dragons too). But our decisions make an impact on our (and others') wellbeing.
Finally, this truth that God allows us to make our own choices impresses upon us the utmost need to cultivate a posture of listening (reread 81:13). We cannot hear and obey God's guidance to a flourishing life if we refuse to listen to him along the way
PAUSE and REFLECT:
How's your listening going these days? Do you make time to hear him speak (through prayer and His Word)? Is your ear tuned to his Spirit throughout the day? Do you desire to hear him and follow him, even at the cost of your own comfort?
If our answer to these three questions are all no, I'm going to hazard a guess that life could be better.
That said, we also understand that no one does these things perfectly all the time. We all have selfish moments, or busy lives, or tremendous pressures that work against cultivating a listening posture. That's normal. But what's the cost to our flourishing?
I am not in the place where I could say, "Follow my example because I've got this nailed down." I constantly have to fight things that work against listening. But I know where I want to be, and I know that following my own desires won't lead me there, so I keep trying.
Perhaps, like me, you also want to cultivate more listening into your daily life with God. The good news is he is pursuing you for this purpose, and he will never give up. You can absolutely bank on his unfailing love being a part of your life. We do not need to convince him to pursue us or help us.
Our only job is to receive the love he offers and allow it to transform our heart, our priorities, and our hearing.
What is one small thing you can do this week to allow God's love to "catch you"? Could you go for a short walk with an open heart? Or maybe read a couple of Bible verses slowly several times and allow something grab your attention? Or maybe sit and breathe deep for sixty seconds and then begin a moment of silence with the words, "Speak, Lord. I'm listening."
"Hear and obey" are the footsteps to flourishing. Take some time this week to put yourself in the best possible mindset to listen.