Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.

Isaiah 51:4   (NIV)

Last week, I commented to a friend that the little gizmo she suggested I order on Amazon wasn’t working anymore. The contraption is supposed to shave stray hairs that appear on the face.

My friend responded…”You’re not a follow the instructions kind of girl, are you?” I told her I was more of a…”Show me real quick how it works kind of girl.” Apparently, I was supposed to be cleaning out the top of the gadget every time I used it. I would have known that if I read the instructions.

How many times do we attempt to do something without reading the instructions? Unfortunately, I know a lot about this! I SKIM the instructions to find out how something works. Only if the product doesn’t work do I breakdown and read the directions…which are usually a page or 2 longer than I wanted to read.

Listening and following instructions can be a source of tension and frustration in any of our lives as parents. When an adult child asks for advice, do we have the right to ask for a progress report? They’re not children anymore. Do we just wait for them to bring it up?

Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. …

Proverbs 4  (NIV)

When our children are younger, we can discipline them…or praise them when they do follow our instructions. In many ways, that was the easier thing to do. They may be 14 years old, or 40 years old. Do we ever lose that feeling of responsibility for our children?

Whether they’re toddlers, teenagers or adults, we want the very best for our children because we love them. As they get older, the best thing to do is turn their future over to God. He had it all the time anyway.

How well do we follow the Lord’s instructions? Like we desire as parents, He wants only the very best for us. I wonder if He gets frustrated with us, like we do with our children.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6  (NIV)

Instructions are not only for a parent/child relationship or a new electronic gizmo. Instructions encompass everything we do in life. We require rules and instructions to keep life running in an orderly manner. How we clean and stock our home…How we clean and stock our fridge…How we navigate our streets…Which events we prioritize to fit our schedule…how we operate our dishwasher…

And most importantly, how we follow the instructions God gives us!

Looking back at my last blog post, Give It to God, https://mvarga.com/life-inspiration/give-it-to-god/, we discussed the greatest of all God’s commandments.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37  NIV

If we but follow these 2 instructions from God…and keep them first and foremost in our thoughts…the other instructions we receive will follow almost automatically, when we put God first. You may still have to read the directions on any electronic or battery-operated gizmos though.

Dear Lord,

Everything we do in life seems to come with its own set of instructions. Help us to keep Your will for our life as the center point of all we do.

As we look to follow Your guidance, all the other instructions we get seem to fall in line. We may still need to read and understand the directions though.

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