Obviously something heavy on my heart lately is to not question Jesus. Not to question His plan or His leading. Not to mistrust Him. And not to question what He asks of me. I want to be so obedient to our God. When all is said and done, I want to be called His friend who proved blameless and always sought His ways above my own.
So how do we go about being obedient to our God? First off, it is important to realize that being obedient and submissive is not about following laws and regulations that our God imposes on us, threatening us with dire consequences to obey. We act in submission to God because of our great love for Him. And we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). He loves us unfairly and unjustly. With a furious love that surpasses all our mistakes and flaws. A love that we can never fully grasp until we are finally living in eternal paradise with our Jesus Himself. Out of this great love is birthed a desire to serve our God and give to Him all that we can offer.
John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (ESV)
The biggest favor we can do for ourselves, ultimately, is to surrender to the leading of the One who has our best in mind. He sees the big picture that we cannot. Oftentimes, when we see just a portion of His plan, we cannot work it out. We may think it useless or even strange to do what He asks of us. I think of Joshua marching around the city of Jericho. The Lord gave him very specific instructions on how to overtake the city. The directions seem strange, yet Joshua does not question them. His success in obeying each instruction leads to the overturn of the city of Jericho. If only we could learn to hear and not question the authority of God and His plan.
We know that God rewards obedience. The great man of faith, Abraham, was tested in this when God asks him to sacrifice his greatest joy in the world-- his son Isaac. Abraham so cherished his miraculous son, born to him in his old age and promised to carry on his line to make him the father of nations. Yet when God told Abraham to sacrifice his beloved, he obeyed. Moments before Isaac was pierced and killed, God ordered Abraham to stop. Because of his obedience, Abraham indeed became the father of many nations and was blessed greatly.
I long to be like these great pillars of faith in our history. I long to be obedient to Jesus without a question of "why"or "how." It must be so freeing to trust God with your whole heart and only do what your Father tells you. How much simpler and peaceful would my life be! Today I meditate on Jesus' obedience to a brutal death on a cross for my sins. I aspire to be more like him every day.
Philippians 2:6-8
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (NIV)
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (ESV)
So how do we go about being obedient to our God? First off, it is important to realize that being obedient and submissive is not about following laws and regulations that our God imposes on us, threatening us with dire consequences to obey. We act in submission to God because of our great love for Him. And we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). He loves us unfairly and unjustly. With a furious love that surpasses all our mistakes and flaws. A love that we can never fully grasp until we are finally living in eternal paradise with our Jesus Himself. Out of this great love is birthed a desire to serve our God and give to Him all that we can offer.
John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (ESV)
The biggest favor we can do for ourselves, ultimately, is to surrender to the leading of the One who has our best in mind. He sees the big picture that we cannot. Oftentimes, when we see just a portion of His plan, we cannot work it out. We may think it useless or even strange to do what He asks of us. I think of Joshua marching around the city of Jericho. The Lord gave him very specific instructions on how to overtake the city. The directions seem strange, yet Joshua does not question them. His success in obeying each instruction leads to the overturn of the city of Jericho. If only we could learn to hear and not question the authority of God and His plan.
We know that God rewards obedience. The great man of faith, Abraham, was tested in this when God asks him to sacrifice his greatest joy in the world-- his son Isaac. Abraham so cherished his miraculous son, born to him in his old age and promised to carry on his line to make him the father of nations. Yet when God told Abraham to sacrifice his beloved, he obeyed. Moments before Isaac was pierced and killed, God ordered Abraham to stop. Because of his obedience, Abraham indeed became the father of many nations and was blessed greatly.
I long to be like these great pillars of faith in our history. I long to be obedient to Jesus without a question of "why"or "how." It must be so freeing to trust God with your whole heart and only do what your Father tells you. How much simpler and peaceful would my life be! Today I meditate on Jesus' obedience to a brutal death on a cross for my sins. I aspire to be more like him every day.
Philippians 2:6-8
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (NIV)
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (ESV)
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