On Obedience

I was reading Beth Moore’s book, Breaking Free for the gazillionth time the other day, and she was interpreting Isaiah 30:15, which says “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” She pointed out that the Hebrew word for trust in that verse means, “there is nothing more that one can do.” And then she wrote a couple of sentences that have a lot of weight if we take them to heart. She wrote, “Once we’ve obeyed God, we can do nothing more. We then wait on Him to bring the victory, knowing that the consequences of our obedience are His problem and not ours.”

I think that this sentence could be easily misinterpreted, so I want to clear that up first. I don’t think she means to say that if God doesn’t respond to our obedience that somehow it’s his fault. I think what she is getting at is that if we walk in obedience, we can trust God for the fruits of that obedience.

For me, this has profound implications. Why? Well, I tend to worry about the outcomes of the decisions that I make. Many times, my decision-making becomes confusing because I try to predict what the outcome will be beforehand. (Yes, there are some decisions in which it is wise to seek many counselors and to consider all the possible outcomes, and even count the costs. But when we count the cost of obedience, we must trust that the favor of God in obedience is far greater gain than anything else we might have gained through disobedience. )

An example of this in my life is that often times, although I sense a strong urging to encourage someone with scripture or truth, I will not do it because I fear that it will be taken the wrong way. “What if they think I think I am better than them? What if they will just think it is silly? What if this and that and this and that?” Many of these concerns muffle the clarity of my calling according to Scripture.

But how different would our lives look if we really did trust and obey? What if we listened to the Spirit of God, obeyed the word of God, and didn’t worry about the things that we so often worry about. What if we didn’t worry about how other people will perceive what we are doing? What if we didn’t worry about how obedience might affect our relationships with other people? Maybe then we would share the gospel with unbelievers, not fearing that they will think we are weirdo Bible-beaters. Maybe then we would hold our Christian brothers and sisters accountable, not fearing that our relationship might be severed. Maybe then we will humbly receive rebuke, criticism, or instruction, not fearing that we might seem incompetent for doing so. Surely we would be much more concerned with God and the advance of his Kingdom than we are with what others might think.

It comes down to this: who is it that we fear? Fear of God, trust in God, and obedience to God are inextricably linked throughout the entire word of God. We obey Him because we trust that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do (fear). The rest is up to God.

Look at Psalm 34:7-10, and see the promises God makes to the one who fears him!

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”

Now may we look exclusively to HIM, and let our lives be marked by a unique desire to please HIM alone! We will not be put to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:6).

Jesus is Better than Candy

If you know me at all, you know that I have a serious sweet tooth. I have heard it runs in the family, but I am by far the worst in my immediate family. Examples? I generally keep a stash of candy in my glove compartment, specifically Fun Dip, Smarties, Cherry Sours, Sour Patch Kids, Gumballs, Nerds Rope, Air Heads, and the like. In college, my roommate made fun of me because I kept assorted candy sprinkles in the car to pour on top of my McDonald’s ice cream cones. Dessert has generally always been a requirement for me.

This began to get a little out of control (you don’t need dessert after breakfast), so I decided to stop eating sweets for a little while. So far it’s been about 10 days, and God has seriously been working in me through it. I mean, I NEVER realized how much I was counting on candy for satisfaction. I know it sounds so stupid, but it’s so true. So I’ve started to substitute Jesus for candy. If you are wondering what that means, it means that when I finish lunch and start to crave something sweet, I consider it my cue to pray. I let Jesus be enough for me. Don’t really know how else to put that, but I like it. It’s good. He is good, and He absolutely is enough.

Good News

The word of the cross, the power of God for salvation(1 Cor 1:18, Romans 1:16):

16 From now on, therefore,we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Amen.

Quotes from Andrew Murray's Humility

From Andrew Murray's book Humility (Chapter 6):

"True humility comes when, in the, light of God, we have seen ourselves to be nothing, have consented to part with and cast away self, to let God be all. The soul that has done this, sand can say, So have I lost myself in finding Thee, no longer compares itself with others. It has given up forever every thought of self in God's presence; it meets its fellow-men as one who is nothing, and seeks nothing for itself; who is a servant of God, and for His sake a servant of all. A faithful servant may be wiser than the master, and yet retain the true spirit and posture of the servant."

"In striving after the higher experiences of the Christian life, the believer is often in danger of aiming at and rejoicing in what one might call the more human, the manly, virtues, such as boldness, joy, contempt of the world, zeal, self-sacrifice,-even the old Stoics taught and practised these,-while the deeper and gentler, the diviner and more heavenly graces, those which Jesus first taught upon earth, because He brought them from heaven; those which are more distinctly connected with His cross and the death of self,-poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, lowliness,-are scarcely thought of or valued. Therefore, let us put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness,long-suffering; and let us prove our Christlikeness, not only in our zeal for saving the lost, but before all in our intercourse with the brethren, forbearing and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave us."

"But let us not be discouraged. Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us, as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that, as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love."

C.S. Lewis Quote

'I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise ... the world rings with praise – lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game ... I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised least... Praise almost seems to be inner health made audible ... I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.' -C.S. Lewis, Reflections on The Psalms