May
Obedience Is Harsh
Obedience seems so harsh. It sounds to us like because I said so. Who wants to hear this? The problem is that our view of the one who utters the command. If they are absent and hostile and indifferent towards our hearts, then it sounds hollow and passionless. But what if the One is the very life we are want so badly? That is a big what if. And everything hinges on this and it comes down to simply one thing—faith. Is God going to be good?
1 Samuel 15:22-23
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
What do we think God wants from us? And equally important, what do we think God has for us? If we think we are trying to bargain with God and convince Him to be merciful then we set out to do a bunch of stuff to appease Him—we seek to bring sacrifices. It is as if we are trying to convince God to be good to us because we don’t think He really will be. Instead, His commands are invitations to find Him faithful and in finding Him faithful, we will find Him good.
Rebellion is simply putting up something else as god.
Arrogance is making yourself out to be god.
As we get ready to commit ourselves to obedience, let’s get away from the passionless duty obedience. Instead, let’s see this as an invitation to find God is really God. What would that do for you? He says to obey is better than to sacrifice. You are not trying to get God to be good…you obey and discover it so.
Lord, help my unbelief. Help my skepticism. Help me to overcome so much of what has given me a false view of You. I will trust Your goodness. Lead me. Today, I will look for ways to be obedient and I will trust You to show me how. Amen.
this post was written by:
Mike Ashcraft who has written 20 POSTS on myoneword.org
1 comment
pam
posted: Jun 29, 2011 @ 11:34PM
WoW!
” And everything hinges on this and it comes down to simply one thing—faith”
Faith is my word for this year. I am struggling with it. This post gives me more perspective…but I am still struggling with it! Is faith enough? I keep waiting…keep having faith.