“…the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.”
Psalm 19:9b-12
Many people in this day and age do not heed warnings. The most common evidence of this is in hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms. Most of the time, warnings are issued in advance of these dangerous weather phenomena, but many people, for various reasons, choose to ignore the warnings and “ride out the storm.” Some manage to do this safely, while others do so to their own peril.
Likewise, there are many Christians who choose to ignore a much more important warning– the warning that comes directly from God. God makes it clear in this passage that God warns his servants by way of His judgments, or commandments. The commandments of God are the warnings issued by God to keep us from danger.
“For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”
Proverbs 6:23
The spiritual dangers of this world lurk all around us and continually obscure and darken our pathway so that we cannot see the eventual destruction they cause. God’s commands, like a flashlight shining into a dark room, illuminate the darkness of life’s pathway and reveal those hidden dangers so that we may steer clear of them and remain on the proper path that God has for us.
To ignore the heavenly warnings of God’s Word is to set ourselves on a collision course with the dangers of life and align ourselves with death and destruction. No Christian sets out for their lives, testimony, and ministry to be ruined by sin, but the slightest dismissal of God’s warning, however small it may seem, is the first step down this tragic path.
“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
proverbs 29:1
The reason why people do not heed severe weather warnings is because they do not believe the storm will be as destructive as it is forecast to be. In some cases, this turns out to be true, but in other cases the storm turns out to be just as powerful and catastrophic as expected.
Friend, the Scripture says the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. The heavenly warnings issued by God are never inaccurate or unreliable; you had better believe that the destruction God warns us of will occur if we do not heed His commandments.
We must humble ourselves and admit that we cannot understand our errors, neither can we understand our own way (see Proverbs 20:24). We must ask the Lord to cleanse us of the sins and errors which we cannot see because of the stubbornness of our own hearts. Then, we must determine to never again ignore God’s heavenly warnings and embrace the promise presented in this passage that if we heed His warnings, we will experience a great eternal reward that surpasses any fleeting sinful pleasure or pathway which we were previously seeking.