Tag Archives: Trust and obey

The Goodness of God’s Testing

Posted in Reflections From My Heart by

We can find God. He’s everywhere!

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yet, Job wonders where he is. I love Job and his “humanness”. Who hasn’t wanted to find God to sit down and have a talk with him. We would ask questions like, “Why God…?”

Job also gives us the answer, “When he tests me, I will come out as pure gold.”

Hang in there. Keep the faith. Trust God even when you cannot understand what he is doing or why he is doing it. You will come through it as pure gold… refined, magnificent, invaluable, and shining brighter.

I Will Obey… NOT!

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

obey

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 24. How many times have you said this? “God, I will obey you.” Only to prove yourself a liar? I have and there is nothing more humiliating then putting your best foot forward and falling flat on your face.

Have you ever stood in Sunday service and looked at the words you are singing? Let’s take this lyric for example…

Wherever you want me to go. I will go
Whatever you need me to do. I will do
Whatever you like me to say. I will say
Just speak the word lord I’ll obey

Whether it’s on a mountain high or in the valley low just have your way whatever you say lord I’ll obey

Wherever you want me to preach. I’ll preach whenever you need me to sing I’ll sing whenever you want me to pray I’ll pray

 Whether it’s in a crowed room or some place where there’s just a few. Whatever you say lord have your way and I’ll obey

 I will obey you lord
I will obey you lord
Just have your way
Whatever you say I’ll obey

Really? How are we any different than the Israelites when they were given God’s laws? Verse 7 says, “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’”

Let’s not kid ourselves. We aren’t capable of being obedient to God. We can be consciously aware of what is right and what is wrong, but to think we can live a life of obedience is only to fall short of the glory of God  (Romans 3:23) over and over again.

So rather than saying we will obey, let’s just admit that we can’t and pray that God would take our lives, do with it as He wills, and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. This not only takes the pressure off of us, but it puts all the credit onto Him where it belongs.

“Just Do It”

Posted in Reflections From My Heart by

obey

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”

It’s more than the motto of Nike, it’s God’s message to us in Genesis chapter 19. When God talks to us, we’re supposed to respond… NOW!

I just finished reading Genesis 19 and my heart is heavy. I see so many similarities between the lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah and that of the world today. I even see some resemblance of Lot’s heart and mine. Lot professes to be a Christian and yet he is so absorbed in the things of the world that he blends right in. In Lot’s case, he was ineffective in winning people over for Christ because he was perceived by the people as, “one of the boys.” I’m quite sure one of the lessons God has for me in this is that he doesn’t call me (Christians) to ‘blend in.’

So the angels of the Lord who visited Lot warned him that he must flee from the city and not look back. He hesitated. Let me quote that out of the bible, verse 16 says, “When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.” How many times to we see that God wants us to respond to Him and we procrastinate? I have my hand raised right now. I admit that I do. Perhaps partial disobedience on my part, but sometimes it simply does take God to grab me and nudge me to get moving. I get comfortable where I’m at. I’m sure Lot and his family were comfortable too.

What I hear ringing in my ears as I write to you in reflection of this story is the song I learned as a kid, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  I guess my learning’s of today are to trust God, don’t hesitate to do it, don’t look back to what I am running from, and leave the outcomes up to God.

My prayer for my readers, followers, and friends is that we may stand united in obedience to God, believe God, and trust God in all over our circumstances.