Parker Inspirations

How many times do I have to tell you?

Did your mom say that to you? My mom said it to me, and I said it to my children. We all must be told over and over sometimes. Throughout the scriptures God tells us over and over different things because we do not get it the first time. In studying the book of Job, we read in chapter 33 verse 14, “For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.”

As a mom I repeated myself many times, teaching my children the things that they needed to learn. We do not teach them to say Mama once and they start saying it. We repeat it over and over till they say it. We do not stand them up one time and say walk. We keep working with them till they walk.

We are no different than a child. God tells us in his word just what we are to do. He does not say it once. Like the word Love or variations of the word love is in the Bible 442 times. Love must be important to God. Nineteen times in the New Testament God told us to love one another. I could find many topics of importance and tell you how many times it is repeated in the Bible.

Studying the Word of God daily helps us to hear it many times, till we get it. God speaks to us multiple times about some area in our life that we need to change or that we need help in. God cares about us enough to keep working with us. We need to have the same compassion with others. Some people do not have to be told as much as someone else might. We are all different. God is longsuffering and patient with us. Let us be the same with others.

The last part of the verse says: “…yet man perceiveth it not.” To perceive means: become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand. Studying the Bible helps us to become aware or conscious of whatever God is trying to teach us. The more we read God’s word the more we will understand. How many times does he have to tell us? As many times as it takes till, we understand.

2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”