“God has said it once, and I’ve heard it twice.”
“The other day, I was hanging out at a bar and a guy walked in who…”
Stand-up comedians are known for bending the truth to tell a good story. Depending on who talks, we often gauge how seriously we believe what they say. We might have a friend who is known to change plans at the last minute. So, we take what they say with a grain of salt.
With my kids, depending on what they say, I will respond with vastly different levels of urgency. If they are asking for a snack for the 20th time that day, I respond very differently than when one of them has the flu and mumbles, “I need to throw up.” I cannot think of a time when I move faster than when I grab a bowl to put it under my sick toddler’s mouth!
Sometimes, I wonder how seriously I tend to respond to what God says. Do we take His word a little less seriously or with less urgency at times?
Perhaps, like Eve and Adam in the garden, there are times we hear God but doubt and question His word, drawn away by competing voices.
Like in Jesus’ parable of the Sower, our mind and heart can behave more like the soil full of thorns, where God’s word initially rings true, but is slowly deafened by the cares of the world. Or, like the rocky soil, where we have not allowed God’s words to take root so that when difficulty comes, we doubt God’s goodness.
Yet, God is not a flake. He says what He means and means what He says.
In Psalm 62, the Psalmist uses the phrase, “God has said it once, and I’ve heard it twice.” When God says something one time, I wonder if it is as though we’ve heard it many times and believed it as many times. I think I can still grow in this!
In Psalm 62:11-12a (ESV), the Psalmist continues:
“Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.”
Both power and steadfast love belong to God. The Bible is full of God’s promises, instructions and His declarations of love. He declares His love tenderly to His people in Isaiah 43, NLT:
“You are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.”
Let these words cut through the noise of the world. Let these words sink deep into our hearts and take root.
A Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You that You mean what You say. Help us today to hear Your Word. Let Your Word sink deeply into our hearts, trusting that it is wholly true. Help us to be shaped by the love You have declared over us and to live in light of Your love and power, through Jesus Christ and in the power of Your Holy Spirit, Amen.
