GOD DOES NOT REQUIRE US TO UNDERSTAND HIS WILL, JUST OBEY IT, EVEN IF IT SEEMS UNREASONABLE Joshua 3:8 Do you often find yourself wondering why God doesnt answer your prayers, or why, despite all your best efforts, the circumstances of your life still dont work out? The answer could lie in your level of obedience to God. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior and are still experiencing great spiritual frustration, there may be an area of disobedience in your life that you have not dealt with. Perhaps God has asked something of you, and in response, you have either ignored His words or done only part of what He asked. True obedience to God means doing what God says, when He says it, how He says it should be done, as long as He says to do it--regardless of whether you understand the reasons for it--until what He says is accomplished. Before you try to make a list of everything God has ever asked you to do or not do, consider this: Is there one particular area of your life in which you struggle to obey Gods Word? As you read the Scriptures, does He continually bring a specific sin to your attention? When you go to Him in prayer, does the same issue surface repeatedly? If the Lord is bringing something to your mind right now, consider this: It could be that you have been living in the same uncomfortable situation for years because at some point, you chose to do things your way instead of Gods way. Understanding this key distinction between your way and Gods way can make a tremendous difference in your life. You must place obedience at the top of your priority list. But to do so, I think you need to see why obedience plays such an important role in your relationship with God--and there may be no better biblical example to illustrate the point than Noah, a man who obeyed God, even when what God asked him to do didnt seem to make much sense. God called this man to do something extraordinary--something that seemed both impossible and illogical--and Noah complied without asking questions. (Gen. 6-9) Noah obeyed God despite what other people thought of him. When we choose the path of obedience, we also must be prepared for the negative responses we will undoubtedly receive. Will it always be popular to obey God? No. Will people criticize you? Probably. Will they think you do some ridiculous things? No doubt. Will they laugh at you? Yes. But think about this: Noah chose to walk with God in the midst of a corrupt society. In fact, it had grown so wicked that God determined to destroy every living human being on the face of this earth, with the exception of one family--Noahs. We can only imagine what those evil people must have said to Noah as they watched him day after day. But soon after the raindrops started falling, all the mocking dried up. We can deduce an important key to obedience from the life of Noah: when God tells us to do something, we must not focus on the things or the persons who try to distract us from doing it. If Noah had begun to listen to his critics, he would not have built the ark and he would have been swept away with everyone else. Instead, he chose to obey God regardless of any misgivings he might have had. The Holy Spirit enables us to obey everyone of Gods commandments. If this were not possible, God would not be a just God. Therefore, whatever He requires of us--whether it be painful or joyful, profitable or costly, reasonable or peculiar--our heavenly Father will help us to obey Him. Obedience must be a priority in every believers life. It is the only way you will ever become the person God wants you to be, and the only way you will ever achieve the things in life that He has so wonderfully prepared for you. The Holy Spirit enables you to walk obediently before God, in His strength and His power. My prayer for you--my petition to God on your behalf--is that you will choose to obey Him, even if you dont understand why He asks you to do something. That way, you can become the person He wants you to be, do the work He desires of you, bear the fruit He enables you to bear, and receive the blessings He has prepared for you.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 12:36:04 +0000
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