Week
3 Obey and Partake
Day 21
Obey
Gracious Lord! Teach me this lesson, that it
is only through knowing Thy will one can know Thy heart, and only through doing
that will one can abide in Thy love. [i]
Andrew Murray
~~~
O
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bedience doesn't make God more inclined to give good gifts
to His children, but it does carve a place in our hearts to receive His
gifts. When we find ourselves struggling with doubt and fear, it is likely
we have ignored the truth that even small acts of disobedience—the ones we
label inconsequential—are rebellion toward God.
These habitual acts of rebellion that
we dismiss too easily are most often a result of our words and actions toward
others. Dieting can cause short-temperedness, and we must remember that Jesus
warned us not to worry so much about what goes into our bodies as we do about the
words that come from our mouths: “…it is not what goes into the mouth that
defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”[ii]
The dissonance between the Holy
Spirit filled mind and sinful flesh causes instability when we fail to bring
our flesh into submission to the Spirit. Obedience puts the flesh in its proper
place, under control of the Spirit-led mind. “The mind governed by
the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”[iii]
This doesn’t mean we are under the
law. Our sense of peace may depend upon obedience, but our salvation does not.
God’s love, expressed through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, is a higher law
than any other. If we snap at our spouses or choose to eat a double
portion when our bodies need only one, we can nevertheless participate in the
righteousness purchased for us by Christ. Thus we do not choose obedience in
order to earn our own salvation, but we can choose the path that will open our
hearts and minds to know more of our Lord and God.
Although in Christ we have freedom,
there are things that are better not to have in proximity once we have set our
hearts on obedience. As Romans 13:14 says, “…put
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its
desires.” We can take active measures to avoid placing ourselves
in the path of temptations that have so often caused us to disobey. If the temptation of a full pan of brownies cannot be
withstood, we can buy just one at a bakery or utilize the help of an
accountability partner who will pray for our self-control (and perhaps accept
the gift of some brownies). When we focus upon our love for God
and His for us, the desire for sin will recede. If we are afraid to push
against the confines of our weak flesh, we won’t become stronger.
Through Christ, God has opened a conduit for His peace to flow directly
into our hearts, and any obstructions are on our side and not His. If, over
time, we have subsisted on quick prayers punctuated with isolated passages of
Scripture, we may need a time of near constant intake of God’s Word in the same
way a hospital patient who is dehydrated needs IV fluids. By an act of will, we
can immerse ourselves in His Word, turn away from other influences, and thus
give Him time to rehydrate our hearts with His truth. Abiding in His love makes
obedience possible, and obedience removes the barriers that rebellion has
placed between God’s peace and our hearts.
Pray: Dear Lord, help me to
obey in a way that brings joy to Your heart. Teach me to keep Your love
paramount in my thoughts and understanding, so that the sins I once committed—the
sins that cost You Gethsemane and Calvary—become abhorrent to me. Lord,
please help me focus upon Your great love so that I manifest that love in my
words and actions. Help me to obey you in my eating, but even more, Lord,
help me to be like You in loving others. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
~~~
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to
set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6
I can hear some of you saying, “For me, all things are permitted.” But face the facts:
all things are not beneficial. So you say, “For me, all things are
permitted.” Here’s my response: I will not allow anything to control me.
1 Corinthians 6:12 The
Voice
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