That It May Be Well With You

A young man’s good example of honoring his dad stirred me to reexamine how well I am listening to our spiritual Father.

Recently I was listening to the true story of a 12-year-old boy whose peer group was tempting him to join in something that was really against his conscience. His reply was, “I can’t do this with you guys.”

“Why not?” they asked with a hint of disbelief.

His simple reply was, “Because I don’t want to hurt my dad.”

A biblical promise

In so doing he was giving honor to his physical father by standing against his peer group. He was listening to his father even when he was not present.

He was also following the instructions of Proverbs 23:22: “Listen to your father, who gave you life” (New International Version).

And there is a promise waiting for this young man as recorded in Ephesians 6:3. The apostle Paul noted that the command to honor our father and mother came with the promise “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth” (see also Deuteronomy 5:16).

Listening to our Heavenly Father

I no longer have a physical father in this life, but I had to stop and think about these things. Do I listen closely enough to my Heavenly Father, who has promised the saints eternal life as part of their calling? There is much throughout the Bible that implores us to listen closely to our Heavenly Father that it may go well with us (Luke 12:31-32; Acts 3:19; Romans 8:11, 14-17).

By listening closely, we can know His Word well and understand His are the words of eternal life. If we know His Word intimately, when something in life comes up that is opposite to those statements, the way to act will be crystal clear.

I heard a minister explain once that it will be like a strobe light suddenly flashing into your bedroom at midnight on an extremely dark night. It will be clear that something is not right!

We can be so grateful to have God’s Word guiding us as a light to our feet. And it is a good thing for the saints to pay special attention to what the Father directs us to do.

As this world spirals into more and more darkness, it is comforting to know God’s desire and promise that it will be well with us if we live in accordance with His instructions.

May we always have an ear to hear our Heavenly Father.

For more on this, see “Reading the Mind of God” and “Christ in Us: How Does He Live in You?”

Lynn Marshall is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, currently dividing her time between family in Australia and the United States.