God does not want us to ignore Him (2 Thess 1:8, AB with NBV) or make light of His suggestions (Job 38:2, GW). When we ignore the Lord, it saddens, exasperates, and displeases Him (Gen 6:5-7; Rom 8:8, Moffatt). It shows we are senseless and don’t care about how He wants us to live (Ps 95:10, Moffatt). Ignoring God conveys that we really aren’t acting like we love Him (Prov 27:5, CW cf. Jn 15:10). The result will be God punishing us for our stubbornness (Jer 9:12-15). He will then allow us to reap the natural consequences of our actions so we might be restored to the sanity that returns to Him, no longer ignoring Him (Lk 15:11-24).
What are some ways we ignore the Lord? We ignore the Lord when we don’t follow the details of His instructions (Hos 8:12, CEV) or are unwilling to keep in step with Him (Gal 5:25). We arrogantly insist on going where we want and expect God to follow us (Rom 3:27-28, Message). Even when He gives us advice, we aren’t willing to follow it (Prov 1:25, EVD). We also ignore the Lord when we live as if we don’t need to listen to Him or even bother trying to get His advice.
Instead of ignoring Him, God wants us to understand what He desires to do with us (Isa 5:12-13, Moffatt). We are not to be a senseless people who frustrate Him but to be individuals who generally understand how He would act (Heb 3:10, CJB) and, then, more specifically, seek to know what He is trying to do in a particular situation. Thus, we can be obedient. Otherwise, we show ourselves to be ignorant of what He wants to do (Eph 4:18) because we have not trained ourselves to think as He would. We don’t listen to Him. In key ways, we ignore Him (2 Thess 1:8, NBV).
Let us not grieve or anger the Lord (Eph 4:30 with Heb 3:10) but be responsive to His leading (Isa 30:21 cf. v 1).
Instead of being timid, learn to be appropriately bold.