311st Meditation
“My people would not listen to me, Israel would have none of me. So I left them to their stubborn selves, to follow their own devices” (Ps 81:11-12).
These verses of the psalm describe the consequence of not listening to the voice of our Father. God makes us see that with our will we refuse to obey Him: “Israel would have none of me”.
Being rational creatures, we are able to turn to God with our freedom, thus using it properly. If we do not do so and do not align ourselves with the truth, we are misusing our capacity to love. On an objective level, this is a rejection of God, even if we are not aware of it. “Israel would have none of me”.
Then our Father gave Israel over to his stubborn heart. His people were no longer willing to listen to His voice and closed themselves off to the point of stubbornness. If this happens, there is a danger that no matter how hard God tries to bring a person back to the right path, He will no longer be able to touch that person. It may even happen that they interpret everything in another way and come to see God as the enemy of their own devices.
In such circumstances, our Father lets the person go their own way, because He cannot force them to obey. He leaves them the opportunity to learn from experience, when they realise that their own plans and devices do not bring them happiness and peace. But it does not exempt them from the suffering that will befall them for “following their own devices”. However, it remains to be seen whether the person will learn from their bad experience. If their heart is stubborn, it will be difficult for them to recognise their mistake, even in the midst of a hard lesson.
But God will not rest and will continue to seek human beings, just as He did with Israel. He does not turn His back on them, though, in view of freedom, He allows them to make their experiences. But His fatherly goodness seeks every possible way to reach them. Among other things, He asks those who do listen to His voice to pray for the ones who are closed to Him.