The nation of Israel had a history of rebelling against God. They did as they pleased, followed the pagan nations’ customs, and refused to listen to what God had to say. Josiah became king when Israel had walked in rebellion for generations. One day, the Word of the Lord was found hidden in the Temple and brought to him. Hearing God’s Word opened his eyes to see how far the nation had drifted. God’s Word cut into the depths of his heart. He then began to follow God’s Word. Daniel had a similar experience when he was reading the Word of the Lord. He recognized that the predicament the Israelites were in (captivity) was because of the sins of his ancestors. He fell to his knees in repentance.
Both these men responded to what they heard… they responded to God’s Word. Our verse today sits in the middle of a whole passage that speaks of the same thing. When you and I were born again, God poured His Word into us (James 1:18), but our verse says that we need to humbly accept the word God planted in our hearts. And then James goes on to say that we need to not just listen to what God says, but we need to obey it (James 1:22). In other words, we need to respond to it. Here’s the thing… God doesn’t expect us to be perfect because that’s impossible, but He does expect us to respond to His Word.
The first thing (and the most important thing) we can do EVERY morning is to go to God’s Word… not out of obligation or duty, but to hear what God has to say. Lord, what do you want to speak to me about today? And then really listen. Ponder it. Meditate on it. Ask yourself what God is saying to you in that moment. Not someone else. But you. And if our actions and the things we’re doing do not align with God’s Word, then we need to make some changes. We need to respond just like Josiah and Daniel did.
James uses a mirror as a metaphor in this passage. A mirror exposes what we really look like. God’s Word is a mirror… revealing what’s really going on in our hearts. Listening to God is not just glancing in a mirror and then walking away, forgetting what I saw. Listening means that I want to hear what God has to say and I’m willing to do anything (or make necessary changes) for my life to align with God’s Word. James said that when we respond to God’s Word, then “God will bless [us] for doing it” (James 1:25). So, let’s respond today!