God once lamented about Jerusalem, the Holy City. He said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! (Matthew 23:37)
This Word does not refer only to Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem represents all the people that God tries to reach in various ways, just as He did in the past trying to reach Jerusalem by sending prophets, sages, scribes and even angels who were always rejected, stoned, killed - including His own Son.
God has many ways of speaking: He can use a program, a tree, a problem that you are going through, your mistake and even an atheist to speak to you. That's because God is God and He can speak any way He wants. But for a person to hear the Voice of God, they need to have humble ears to receive His message.
One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is thinking he knows something, because he will never try to improve. He already thinks that is self-sufficient and, for this reason, he does not listen to the advice of God or anyone else. They are those people who are suffering, and when someone offers help, they say they are well.
Many people are like this: resistant and proud. Therefore, God cannot reach them. Not because God doesn't want to, but because they don't want to.
How many times has God sent something or a situation to help you and you resisted? How many times has God reached out to try to teach you something and you rejected it because of your pride, because you think you know, and so you wanted to insist on your mistake? God left that Word to prove that He tried countless times, but you didn't want to, you rejected Him.
After the verse quoted above, God concludes by saying, "See! Your house is left to you desolate;" (Matthew 23.38), that is, He meant: “since you want to be alone, I will fulfill your wish and I will leave you”.
So, if you have been resisting all of God's attempts to reach you, beware of the day that He will do what you want.
Bishop Renato Cardoso