People often like to be left alone. Why? Sometimes people like solitude and to have time alone to commune with God. But I will not talk about “alone time”, rather I will address times when you speak to people and they simply say, “leave me alone.”
Sometimes when you talk to people and point out some deficiency that you see needs correcting, you may get a response like, “Leave me alone.” These people enjoy the vice they are participating in, whether it is lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. Often they know it is wrong, or not the best for them, (ie. eating unhealthy foods), but they simply wish to continue, and do not want to be told that they are doing anything wrong. Their conscience may be bothering them a little, and then when told it is wrong, their conscience pricks them a little more and they feel uncomfortable and thus they wish to be left alone so their conscience does not trouble them.
Some are defiant and just refuse to listen to any counsel. They clearly know what they are doing is wrong, but they adamantly demand to be left alone. They close their eyes and ears from any reproof or direction. They feel they have all they need and choose to do what they want. They do not want to be told by anyone that they need to change.
Then there are those who politely do not want to hear. They want to be left alone because they are fully aware of the fact that increased knowledge means increased accountability and responsibility. “For this they willingly are ignorant.” 2 Peter 3:5. They would rather not know—rather remain in ignorance, so they ask to be left alone. The reality is, you are saved or lost, not by what you know, but what you would have known had you used the opportunities provided for you to know.
If you have a good friend, you enjoy their company and you like to spend time with them, and wish to help them when you see them falter, but if your friend does not appreciate your help and tells you to leave them alone, how would you feel? You would naturally feel very hurt and disappointed. You would hope they would change their minds and remain as your friend, but if they do continue to spurn you, one day you give up on the friendship.
That is how it is with Jesus. Many have told Him, “Leave me alone,” when He wants to help them, and it has never proven to be profitable for them.
King Joash killed Zechariah (the son of the priest who raised him) because he told him of his sin and the king did not want to hear it. “And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, He hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.” 2 Chronicles 24:20–22. In the end his own servants conspired against him and killed him.
King Ahab, a wicked king, hated God’s prophet because he always spoke evil of him. “And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” 1 Kings 22:8. King Ahab did
not like the message brought by Micaiah and thus he put the prophet into prison. By not heeding the words of the prophet, King Ahab died in the next battle.
King Asa was a good king at the beginning of his reign. “And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 15:8. However, towards the end of his life, he made a mistake and when he was reproved by another prophet of God, he got angry. “Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.” 2 Chronicles 16:10. There was an element of pride that he could not give up, and thus he imprisoned the prophet so that he could no longer hear the words of the Lord. He did not have a nice ending to his life. “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers.” 2 Chronicles 16:12–13
Felix felt pricked in his heart when he heard the words of truth from the apostle Paul, “Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Acts 24:25. “He had slighted his last offer of mercy. Never was he to receive another call from God.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 427. Felix ended up losing his job in disgrace.
Then there was the French Revolution. The leaders of France clearly stated they did not want to have anything to do with God in the country as a whole. (See, The Great Controversy, chapter 12). The results were disastrous. Finally, they had to admit that a society without God is a society set out to be ruined, and they reversed their decision.
It started with Lucifer in heaven. He was kindly told that what he was doing was not correct. He quietly listened as the Lord spoke to him, but in his heart there was defiance. He may not have verbalized it in the presence of the Lord, but he clearly had this attitude in his heart and the Lord could read his heart. “The Son of God presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from it, Lucifer would dishonor his Maker and bring ruin upon himself. But the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of resistance. Lucifer allowed his jealousy of Christ to prevail, and became the more determined.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 35. “Leaving his place in the immediate presence of the Father, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels.” –Ibid., p. 38. The key point here is that he “brought ruin up on himself.” He could not blame God, or anyone else. He is the one who left his place in the “immediate presence of the Father.”
Adam and Eve, after they sinned, ran away from God. They told Him to leave them alone as they were naked. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8. Thankfully, unlike many others mentioned, they changed their minds and returned to worship the Lord.
However, their son, Cain, was more defiant. God clearly warned him of his sin. “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” Genesis 4:6–7. He went ahead defiantly, wishing to be left alone, and thus it led to murder. Being unrepentant, “Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.” Genesis 4:16. He left the presence of God. Wishing to be left alone by God only brings ruin to one’s soul.
Try doing missionary work in this day and age. How many people we meet, hoping to share the gospel with them, respond with, “leave me alone.” They do not want to hear anything about God, and righteous living. They wish to be left alone to “enjoy” life on this earth and bear the fruits of their own living in pleasure. They live for the pleasures of today, not wanting to think about tomorrow. They keep walking further and further away from the Lord, and one day they have walked so far, they cannot hear His voice any longer. Not only do they walk away from the Lord’s voice, they walk away also from His protective care. “Thy reward shall return upon thine own head.” Obadiah 1:15
Sometimes people may not directly tell the Lord to leave them alone, but when they reject His church, His people and His chosen leaders, they are saying the same thing. You may even be in the church of God, but if you reject the voice of reproof from a fellow believer or leader, you are choosing not to hear the voice of the Lord.
“There will be, among the remnant of these last days, as there were with ancient Israel, those who wish to move independently, who are not willing to submit to the teachings of the Spirit of God, and who will not listen to advice or counsel. Let such ever bear in mind that God has a church upon the earth, to which He has delegated power. Men will want to follow their own independent judgment, despising counsel and reproof; but just as surely as they do this they will depart from the faith, and disaster and ruin of souls will follow.” –Selected Messages, bk. 3, p. 23. Just because you are a church member does not mean you are free from human pride. Many, like Judas Iscariot, who was very close to Jesus, lose their way due to their human pride that they will not give up.
“But My people would not hearken to My voice; and Israel would none of Me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust.” Psalm 81:11–12. This verse speaks to “My people”, the nation of Israel. Patriarchs and Prophets (page 441) quotes this verse in reference to the prophet Balaam (a prophet of God). (See Numbers 22–24). He was told by the Lord not to go curse Israel, but he lusted the wealth that King Balak offered. He kept asking and asking, and finally the Lord, knowing the desires of his heart, gave him permission to go. Balaam was essentially wanting the Lord to leave him alone and not bother his conscience. And so, the Lord would not hold him back if he really wanted to go. But he still could speak only the words the Lord put in his mouth. Balaam did not enjoy the fruits of his evil doing for very long. “And they slew the kings of Midian, . . . Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.” Numbers 31:8
“There are thousands at the present day who are pursuing a similar course. They would have no difficulty in understanding their duty if it were in harmony with their inclinations. It is plainly set before them in the Bible or is clearly indicated by circumstances and reason. But because these evidences are contrary to their desires and inclinations they frequently set them aside and presume to go to God to learn their duty. With great apparent conscientiousness they pray long and earnestly for light. But God will not be trifled with. He often permits such persons to follow their own desires and to suffer the result.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 440–441
Many people do not want to listen to the voice of the Lord. They want to be left alone to decide their own course of action. They put on a good front, that they are following the Lord, when they are actually walking contrary to His will. “They had light and in the very reason of things should have understood their duty; but a few pleasing inducements balance their minds in the wrong direction, and they urge these before the Lord and press their case, and the Lord allows them to have their own way. They have so strong an inclination to follow their own course that He permits them to do so and to suffer the results. These imagine that they have a wonderful experience.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 73–74. These people are deceived. Only disaster can result.
In the days of Noah, the people did not want to hear the voice of God. They wanted to be left alone. God’s spirit does not always strive with men (Genesis 6:3). When men persist in rebellion and hardness of heart, God lets them have their own way and suffer the results of their choosing. God’s government is a government of free moral choice. God does not coerce the will. He warns man that disobedience brings ruin, but does not prevent man’s contrary choice. “Men cannot with impunity reject the warning which God in mercy sends them. A message was sent from heaven to the world in Noah’s day, and their salvation depended upon the manner in which they treated that message. Because they rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished in the waters of the Flood.” –The Great Controversy, p. 431
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections.” Romans 1:24, 26. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” Romans 1:28. Christ declares that He will leave them to follow their own course of action. He will not force compliance to His commandments. When people wilfully turn away from God and shut Him out of their minds and hearts, God leaves them to walk in their own ways of self-destruction. “Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.” Acts 14:16. If men insist on following their own evil way, God will allow them to do so for a time without withdrawing His gracious aid and restraint. But there is a limit. They are left to reap the results of their rebellion in ever deeper enslavement to the power of sin. They wish to be left alone. Their rejection of God is not unconscious. They refused to recognize Him. Instead of increasing their knowledge of God they suppressed the truth and thus found themselves separate from God. God gives everyone freedom to choose and leaves them alone in their choice, if they made the wrong choice. Although He sends His Spirit to try to win one back who has started down the wrong pathway, He will never force. And one day, if they continue down the wrong pathway, ignoring all pleas to return, the Holy Spirit will follow no further, but will turn away.
How do you treat the messages sent from heaven? Every Sabbath, during the divine service, a message is sent to you from heaven. Do you listen, take notes, and review the message during the week? Or do you forget it and by the end of the Sabbath you do not recall much of what was
said? Do you criticize the speaker because his language and mannerisms were not perfect according to your standards? Or do you strive to best understand the message that the Lord has sent for you? Do you sleep through the service, and get frustrated when it goes beyond 12:00 P.M.? If reproved for your sleeping do you wish to be left alone? Only you can answer these questions.
The Prodigal Son walked away from the protection of his father. He wished to be left alone. He did not like the rules and expectations of home life. He felt as though his freedom was restricted and he did not want to hear his father’s voice of counsel and reproof any longer, so he took his inheritance and left.
“What a picture here of the sinner’s state! Although surrounded with the blessings of His love, there is nothing that the sinner, bent on self-indulgence and sinful pleasure, desires so much as separation from God. Like the ungrateful son, he claims the good things of God as his by right. He takes them as a matter of course, and makes no return of gratitude, renders no service of love. As Cain went out from the presence of the Lord to seek his home; as the prodigal wandered into the ‘far country,’ so do sinners seek happiness in forgetfulness of God.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 200
The father went nowhere; it was the son who walked away into the world to “enjoy” the pleasures of sin.
“Whatever the appearance may be, every life centered in self is squandered. Whoever attempts to live apart from God is wasting his substance. He is squandering the precious years, squandering the powers of mind and heart and soul, and working to make himself bankrupt for eternity. The man who separates from God that he may serve himself, is the slave of mammon. The mind that God created for the companionship of angels has become degraded to the service of that which is earthly and bestial. This is the end to which self-serving tends.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 200–201. Many false Christians are living a life of self-serving.
The devil led the Prodigal Son into the world, but when his money ran out, the devil did not rescue him. The devil left him in a pigsty. It was Jesus who came and rescued the man from the pigsty when he came to himself and realized the folly of his actions.
“The love of God still yearns over the one who has chosen to separate from Him, and He sets in operation influences to bring him back to the Father’s house. The prodigal son in his wretchedness ‘came to himself.’ The deceptive power that Satan had exercised over him was broken. He saw that his suffering was the result of his own folly, and he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father.’ Miserable as he was, the prodigal found hope in the conviction of his father’s love. It was that love which was drawing him toward home. So it is the assurance of God’s love that constrains the sinner to return to God. ‘The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.’ Romans 2:4. A golden chain, the mercy and compassion of divine love, is passed around every imperiled soul. The Lord declares, ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ Jeremiah 31:3.” –Ibid., p. 201–202
When the son arrived back to his father, the father was waiting with open arms. “While he is yet ‘a great way off’ the father discerns his form. Love is of quick sight. Not even the degradation of the years of sin can conceal the son from the father’s eyes. He ‘had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck’ in a long, clinging, tender embrace.” –Ibid., p. 203. “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:7. Imagine yourself in a long clinging tender embrace with Jesus.
The Lord does not leave people alone. They leave Him. If they do not want to serve Him, He quietly steps back and leaves them to the buffeting of the enemy—the leader they have chosen.
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18. Have you told the Lord to leave you alone? If you love sin, He may try to bring you correction through a fellow believer; but, if you choose not to listen, you may be left to go your own way. “We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result. Every act of transgression reacts upon the sinner, works in him a change of character, and makes it more easy for him to transgress again. By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1085. The key phrase is “the sinner brings punishment upon himself.” You cannot blame anyone for the results of your actions if they are not according to God’s will. It is the result of your own choice. The Prodigal Son recognized that his suffering was a result of his own folly.
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians 6:7–8. Those who treat lightly the counsel that God sends must suffer the consequences of so doing. As in the natural world, a seed planted grows its own specific kind of fruit; a seed can only reproduce of its own kind. It is an inflexible law. Thus, a man who sows wild oats cannot expect an abundant wheat harvest.
“The Spirit of God keeps evil under the control of conscience. When man exalts himself above the influence of the Spirit, he reaps a harvest of iniquity. Over such a man the Spirit has less and less influence to restrain him from sowing seeds of disobedience. Warnings have less and less power over him. He gradually loses his fear of God. He sows to the flesh; he will reap corruption. The harvest of the seed that he himself has sown, is ripening. He has a contempt for God’s holy commandments. His heart of flesh becomes a heart of stone. Resistance to truth confirms him in iniquity. It is because men sowed seeds of evil, that lawlessness, crime, and violence prevailed in the antediluvian world.
“All should be intelligent in regard to the agency by which the soul is destroyed. It is not because of any decree that God has sent out against man. He does not make man spiritually blind. God gives sufficient light and evidence to enable man to distinguish truth from error. But He does not force man to receive truth. He leaves him free to choose the good or to choose the evil. If man resists evidence that is sufficient to guide his judgment in the right direction, and chooses evil once, he will do this more readily the second time. The third time he will still more eagerly withdraw himself from God and choose to stand on the side of Satan. And in this course he will continue until he is confirmed in evil, and believes the lie he has cherished as truth. His resistance has produced its harvest.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1112
God’s power and love is limitless and He cannot stop loving you. No matter how evilly you have treated Him. No matter how much you have rejected Him in the past—He still loves you. He even loves those who have wandered so far away that they no longer hear His voice.
“But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings.” Jeremiah 21:14. God cannot do any work without love being an integral part of every action. Even in the destruction of the wicked, it is mercy and kindness and love to the wicked. They would not be happy continuing in their current lifestyle. When He finally sends a fire to devour the wicked, does He still love them? Yes, by all means. He created all these beings, including Lucifer himself. This is a strange act. An act of love. Just think what kind of evil and vice would continue if He permitted these beings to continue living. His heart aches for them.
“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1–2. The Lord is willing to save everyone. He is able to save everyone who comes to Him in true humility and repentance. It is you that may have left the Lord’s presence. If you do not hear the voice of the Lord, perhaps you should search your own heart.
We may claim not to have told the Lord to us alone leave, but read on: “One cherished sin will, little by little, debase the character, bringing all its nobler powers into subjection to the evil desire.” –Conflict and Courage, p. 114. “If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong practice retained in the life, the whole being is contaminated. The man becomes an instrument of unrighteousness.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 313. “Every habit or practice that leads into sin and brings dishonor upon Christ must be put away, whatever the sacrifice.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 312
“Already the Spirit of God, insulted, refused, abused, is being withdrawn from the earth. Just as fast as God’s Spirit is taken away, Satan’s cruel work will be done upon land and sea.” –Last Day Events, p. 242. This is a strong quote. People are not appreciating what God is doing for them. They insult, they refuse and they abuse Him. Are you perfect? If not, then the Lord has a message for you. Will you listen to the voice of the Lord? Or will you insult Him and refuse to listen and tell Him to go away?
“Wonderful truth! This is a two-edged sword which cuts both ways. This life and death question is before the whole human race. The choice we make in this life will be our choice through all eternity. We shall receive either eternal life or eternal death. There is no middle ground, no second probation. We are called upon to overcome in this life as Christ overcame. Heaven has provided us with abundant opportunities and privileges, so that we may overcome as Christ overcame, and sit down with Him on His throne. But in order to be overcomers, there must be in our lives no petting of fleshly inclinations. All selfishness must be cut out by the roots.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1112
The Lord is calling you today. He has a message for you. He wants to help you overcome every sin and defect in your character in preparation for life in the heavenly Canaan. Will you listen to His message and work with Him? Or will you say to Him “Leave me alone?” Maybe you are thinking like Felix, that another day is better. However, a better day may never come. “To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 3:15. Jesus is calling you today in love. Amen.
Wendy Eaton