Ready & Willing vs Hesitant & Afraid
God’s Word.
WHAT DID GOD SAY TO ME THIS MORNING
In obedience, the On Assignment By God Blog, now has an audio feature where you can listen to this blog!! Thank you for your prayers as I continue to be obedient and do what God says! Happy Listening!!
What makes you obedient to the laws of your country?
What makes you obedient to the rules at your job?
What makes you obedient to the contracts you have made with your mortgage, banker, rent, credit card, loan company, etc.?
What makes you obedient to your spouse?
What makes you obedient in your church?
What makes you obedient to God’s word?
As I was praying this morning, the Holy Spirit gave me two words: application and obedience. I started thinking about these words and those questions above came up. On the ride to school this morning, I asked my two kids (age 11 and 8) what makes them obedient to the school rules? I asked my son what makes him obedient to the rules on the football field and the basketball courts. My daughter said she obeys the rules for school because she wants to pass to the next grade and doesn’t want to get in trouble. I interpreted that as meaning she cares about her reputation too. And a side note: she totally does. This child has always been good in school. Every teacher rants and raves about how well behaved she is. Her Dad and I have heard this since she was probably one or two years old in daycare. She always got the sunshine reports.
Now it took my son a few minutes to come up with his answer, so I had to relate it to athletics for him to answer me quickly. The carpool line was moving pretty swiftly and I really wanted their take on me and God’s conversation. So I asked my son the question this way: what makes you obedient to your coach or the referee at the game? He said, well I don’t want to get put out of the game or sit on the bench for not doing what they said do. I interpret that as him caring so much about playing in the game, that he doesn’t want to compromise and risk not being able to play.
What about you? What makes you obedient?
I thought about the question for myself. When I share my testimony with others about how daily prayer changed my life, they always say things like: “I wish I could do that” or “wow, that’s a really disciplined lifestyle.” And I always encourage them by telling them, they can do it too. I am not special because I wake up and pray. (well I am special, but you know what I mean). Our God is no respecter of persons. He created me just like he created you. But back to what makes me disciplined and obedient enough to get up and pray. My answer: I really want the benefits of a prayer life. I really want to spend time with God to understand why I am here on earth. I really want to only walk down the paths that God wants me on. But I wasn’t always doing it even though I wanted it. What helped me to become obedient to the scripture that says pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is application of the Word of God. It was me deciding to apply what I had heard and read so that I could benefit from it.
What’s so interesting to me is that we really believe it’s hard to obey God. But yet, when you start a new job and they say, we want you here at 7 a.m. or we need you to work on Saturday, you simply obey what they say. Essentially the devil has warped our minds so bad that we are ready and willing to obey the laws of our country, the rules at our jobs, the contracts we have signed with our mortgage, banker, rent, credit card, loan company, etc.; and the rules with our spouses (well that’s actually an area up for debate). But we easily follow the rules. We stop at the stop sign. We may speed but we slow down when we see the authorities. We show up on time if we know our boss is watching. We may pay our mortgage or rent late but we still pay because we don’t want to lose our homes. We obey the school rules by getting our kids there on time. When our kids have to wear a certain shirt or certain shoes for PE, we comply. But why?
Why is it easier to be obedient in all these other areas of our lives, but when God gives us the rules and commands on how to live, we struggle or we don’t do it, or we flat out do the opposite?
I believe it’s because we haven’t taken the time to really understand the consequences of disobedience to God. We know the consequences exist but we haven’t really felt God’s wrath. And the reason we haven’t is because He is so gracious to give us time to get it right, but the thing is…we don’t know how much time He is giving us to get it right! We haven’t taken the time to really understand WHY God put the rules in place. See we know why stop signs exist. We know why it’s important to be at work at a certain time? We know why speeding is not a good idea? We know why paying our bills on time is worth it? The reason we are obedient is because we know the WHY behind it. Are you not being obedient to God because you’re unsure of the WHY? The rules God set have way more purpose than any other worldly rules you will ever follow.
This morning, I heard the Holy Spirit say: Application: don’t just read the Word, apply it.
He also said: Be Ready & Willing To Obey. Don’t be hesitant or afraid to obey Me when you’re not hesitant and afraid to obey worldly authorities.
If we are out here obeying everybody else but God, then it’s time to make some changes in your life. What I have learned since I have been praying every day, is that it’s really not that hard to obey.
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Check out your assignment questions for today. Take a moment to reflect and then answer the questions in your journal. Pray. Listen. Write. Obey.
Your Assignment For Today:
What did God say to YOU in your conversation with Him this morning?
What area of your life are you being disobedient to God in? Are you ready and willing to change it today?
Do you believe God’s Word to be the ultimate authority in your life?
Today’s Scriptural Surprise is Proverbs, chapters 4-6. So much wisdom and instruction!!
SALVATION PRAYER
If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.