Do you know this
story? I know I do, and if I honestly
admit it, at times, it is my own. God tells me to do something that I find
terribly difficult, and I find a reason not to listen. If God is the greatest
reason for my life, then my obedience is not an option, and it does not just happen. It is born of deep
commitment to God. It certainly calls for my personal sacrifice. When it is
born of sacrifice, obedience speaks my willingness to submit to God’s desires
instead of my own. Often obedience contradicts the desires of my heart.
We
all can find reasons not to obey. “It is too hard for me to do that! I can’t
give it up, Lord! I don’t have time to study the Word and pray. Lord, what would
others think of me? What if I fail you, Lord? I can’t see how my doing this
will help, Lord. I don’t feel the
need to do that, Lord.” The excuses
mount until God’s voice echoes like distant thunder. With our backs firmly
turned, and our hearts grown cold, we suddenly declare, “I refuse to do that,
Lord.”
Refusing
God means the loss of God's presence in our lives. David, when confronted by
Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba, immediately repented. “Do not cast me from
your presence,” he cried out to God, “or take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm
51:11). He understood the danger of being separated from God was the loss of
God’s presence. His cry for forgiveness speaks of his loving respect for God
and his commitment to God’s desires (Psalm 51).
Solomon
refused to listen to the Lord, and allowed his weakness for the things of the
world to destroy his relationship with the Lord. Near the end of his life, he
looks back on wasted years and declares in Ecclesiastes, “Meaningless!
Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes
1:2)! The life of Solomon is a sad account of how he blew the undeserved
opportunities God had given him. Chuck Swindoll refers to Ecclesiastes as a
“graphic portrayal of a life lived apart from God.”
Jonah
ran from the Lord’s instruction to witness to the depraved city of Nineveh, and
he ended up in the belly of a whale. It took disaster to bring Jonah a
repentant heart. Even following repentance, Jonah argued with the Lord and his
obedience was less than perfect.
The
Lord yearns for me to have an obedient heart—one that listens to the conviction
and direction of the Holy Spirit as David listened—one which, unlike
Jonah, follows God’s will without
argument. I certainly do not wish my life to be likened to Solomon’s—one lived
apart from God. It is our responsibility for holiness of heart and obedience to
God to be the most important disciplines of our lives.
Disobedience
stems from pride. Longing for personal acceptance by others, it says “no” when the
sacrifice involves humility. However, true obedience reveals respect for the
cost of Jesus’ sacrifice, and goes where disobedience never will— into the very
heart of God. This is where the joy of obedient sacrifice is discovered.
“Remember
this,” Paul wrote, “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he
has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so
that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in
every good work” (II Corinthians 9:6-8).
God
loves a cheerful giver who invests richly in His kingdom through obedience in
every area of his life. My compliance to God’s will speaks of joy in my own sacrifice. If I invest
with joy, I shall receive the grace of His total supply. I shall discover His joy in giving—the joy of
giving as He gave His life for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment