I was in a crafting class recently, hanging on to every word from the instructor.
I’m not a natural “crafter” by any means, so I was making sure I followed the instructor’s every word!
She told us the next direction, and I picked up my paint brush to do what I assumed she meant.
She quickly mentioned: “Wait, make sure you DON’T saturate it with paint! You want to keep it super light, otherwise you will ruin all the other work you just did!”
I put my paint-drenched paintbrush back in the cup and scraped off a bunch of paint.
Whew. Close call.
It is great to know what to do.
But it’s also great to know what NOT to do, right?
One of the most straightforward examples of this is found in Zephaniah 3:2 this week. Using feminine pronouns to refer to Jerusalem, he taught:
“She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.”
Pretty straight forward, right?
Jerusalem didn’t obey the voice of the prophets. They didn’t receive correction. They didn’t trust in the Lord. And they didn’t actively find ways to draw near to their God.
And it didn’t turn out well for Jerusalem.
Knowing that fantastic nonexample, now which area can you work on with even more diligence?
Obey. Receive correction. Trust. Draw near.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
