Whom can I speak to?
Whom can I give a warning to?
Who will listen?
Jeremiah 6:10
When God talks, do you listen or change the subject? Hearing from God isn’t always a good feeling. A lot of times it’s a pain and nothing you want to hear. It can be like a rude awakening to get an unwanted reminder of your own imperfection, and the easy response is to say, “So what?” “That’s just how I am,” or “Nobody’s perfect.” But the better way to handle a correction, whether it comes as a heavenly tap or as a rude slap from an unloving human being, is with humility and sanctification in mind. Brushing off correction or admonishment is never a good idea, so the smart girl thinks it over and compares it with God’s Word to see if what she’s hearing sounds like a message from God. Nobody grows in godliness without facing the ugly truth about themselves from time to time. So don’t get all depressed or freak out, but reset and think about taking a new path, a new way of thinking or acting.
The prophets of the Old Testament warned God’s people of their sinful ways, but even though they spoke for God, they were most often rejected and feared by the people, who didn’t want to be told they were doing anything wrong. It’s human nature to run the other way when someone starts to point a finger at you, but that doesn’t make it godly. As you read the books of the prophets, look at how easy it was for the people to choose their sin over God’s correction, but also look at how God never gave up on his people.
Not everything that everyone tells you is a word from God, but the God Girl looks at correction as a chance to find out more about what pleases God and to really look at her own motives and desires. When you are corrected, your best response is always to be honest about your motives and choose not to blame the person who’s correcting you but to try to find some truth in their words.