Recently God’s asked me over and over again to die to something I want for myself. But every time He speaks, I make excuses like, “Nah, that’s not really God asking me that”. Because if I convince myself it’s not God asking me, then I don’t have to obey.
Maybe like me, God is asking you to do something you don’t want to do. We know that if we obey, we will give up a lot. And I’d rather be comfortable than obedient most days, so I keep on making excuses.
But then something I read in Experiencing God by Blackaby and King, reminded me that people have been giving God excuses for disobedience forever. Moses, Gideon, Noah, Abraham, David and more. Because we know exactly what God’s asking us to do. And this is why we raise so many objections. I like the ease of being me, more than the pain it will cause me to change. But I know if I obey, I’ll look less like me and a lot more like Him. And at the end of it all, this is what I crave more than the comfort of my disobedience.
What if we were to obey the next time He asks? And not give delayed, excuse-filled, obedience, like I’m prone to do, but obey immediately. On this very subject in my book, Chasing Famous, I say,
In my opinion, our obedience is not just one way we evidence our faith, I think it’s the evidence of our faith…Obedience is extremely difficult, especially because it always seems easier to go our own way. But my happiness and comfort are not what I’m living for. I’m living to make God famous despite the sacrifice.
May we obey God immediately, and not give or make excuses for our disobedience. And as we do so, may we make God wildly famous.
“But the pot He was shaping in the clay was marred in His hands, so the Potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to Him” (Jeremiah 18:4).
I’d love to hear your thoughts and I will respond. Feel free to leave a comment below.
I totally agree that obedience is the evidence of our faith in Him. “Obedience” has the potential for misinterpretation and take on a bad rap if one only focuses on what he or she thinks “should” be done. Obedience is simply listening to what God is telling us to do, not to do, when to do and with whom to do. So in my flesh, I can say that I am doing something in obedience when actually I am doing what seems right for me to do in my own lame wisdom. Sometimes obedience can even be evidence of my faith if I wait on Him when I might naturally run ahead of Him. Dwelling with our Father in complete submission (regardless of our human nature) leads to the obedience that will make Him famous!
Love it Donna! I’ve found in my life, that the longings of my flesh are what I battle with the most when it comes to choosing to obey or not to obey. It’s so hard! Thanks for reading and for commenting!