Exodus 23:25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.
Exodus 23:33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deuteronomy 10:20 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him,
Deuteronomy 11:13-14 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.
Deuteronomy 13:4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
Deuteronomy 28:1-6 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”
1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.
Do you ever wonder what interferes with serving God with all your heart and with all your soul? Scriptures say “obey the voice of the Lord your God” and then it says to “serve Him with all your heart and soul.” You have heard of the question “Does a tree falling over in a forest makes a sound if no one is there to hear it.” If it is not perceived by someone does not mean it did not make noise.
If we don’t spend time in the forest of God’s word there is no chance we will hear His voice, let alone, be able to follow and obey it with our whole heart and soul. Spending time in the forest of God’s word allows us to see the massiveness as well as the singularity of it. It allows us to see the beauty, promises, strength, power, might, and steadfast grace, mercy, and love of God. Paul speaking to unbeliever said it this way – “how are people to hear unless someone tells them. but Peter speaking to believers said it this way – “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”
Believers should desire and seek the forest of God’s word. They should run to it each day to hear the voice of God speak into their lives. They want to hear Him speak so they can serve, follow and obey.
I think people stay out of the forest of God’s word because they have seen all they want to see from a distance. By staying outside of the forest there is little chance they will need to listen and because they are close enough to see it, they think they are ok enough.
Do you want to see truth and beauty – Run to the forest of God’s word with a desire seeking to hear Him speak into your life. Blessing comes to those who spend time in the forest listening and obeying Him speak.