This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. Zechariah 7:9-11

The priests and the people of the land wanted to hear the voice of God through Zechariah but in Chapter 7 we hear the Lord give a pretty strong word, one I am sure they didn’t want to hear at all. He is telling them things that should be basic learnings from what they knew of the law. They shouldn’t even need to hear a word like this as it should be second nature to them. However we hear that the priests and the people have refused to pay attention to these instructions. They clearly were oppressing and plotting evil against each other. They were withholding justice, mercy and compassion from each other. They had closed their ears to the word of the Lord.

Fast forward to today.

This prophecy from Zechariah feels too close to what we do when it comes to hearing God’s voice. Too often we gather at conversations or ministry times hoping to get a word from God that could help us in our lives but we haven’t yet carried out what He has already asked us to do. We can live our lives with our eyes and ears closed to the call of God in our lives but yet still expect Him to speak in moments when we are gathered together.

Today I am asking myself some tough questions;

• Am I showing true justice in my life?
• Am I a man of mercy?
• Am I a compassionate person?
• Do I help and show these things to the most disadvantaged in our society?
• Do I plot the downfall of others (in my mind or practically!)

Let’s not close our ears and eyes to what God has already asked us to do in our time. Let’s not run looking for more marching instructions when we haven’t even tried to carry out the old ones. Let’s listen to the Lord!