Obedience part 3
When you obey God, good things happen. It's that simple. Why? Because He knows the end from the beginning. Why? ""For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope"" (Jeremiah 29:11). In the King James Version it reads, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." God knows the end from the beginning. And He knows the best way to get from the end to the beginning. And consider this--what God KNOWS is more important and more powerful than what we THINK. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death. Sometimes it seems like going our own way is a good idea, but I'm here to tell you it isn't. Look at Proverbs 16:3 (NLT), "Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed." And sometimes I think that's where we miss it. We're always waiting for (or trying to avoid) God to tell us what to do. I believe more is lost by no decision than wrong decision. I believe many times we rob ourselves of the gift God has given us by either going our own way, or doing nothing at all. Looking for love in all the wrong places instead of going straight to the source. Obeying God isn't always hearing Him give an order and then following it. Now, having said that, if you hear God give an order... you should follow it. But obedience also has a large measure of simply including God in every aspect of your life. Letting love lead you, guide you, direct you, and protect you. See, God doesn't just want to be a PART of your life. He wants to BE your life because He IS life! He knows the plans and the thoughts that He has for you. He created you for a purpose. And, sadly, I don't think many of us ever experience that purpose. Certainly not to the fullest degree. But it is the pursuit that matters. David was a man after God's own heart, right? Not because he had it, but because he wanted it. Because he was AFTER it. So many times in the book of Psalms we see David cry out for God to give His heart and His spirit to us. David knew--in that timeframe and dimension before the cross--that he didn't have the fulness of God. But, man, he wanted it! And even though he made mistakes in his life, we wasn't disqualified from being one of God's favorites. That's how our heavenly Father feels about all of us! I'm God's favorite. And you are too! He is no respecter of persons. He looks at us--all of us--and sees Jesus. And He looks at Jesus and sees all of us! His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's the dynamic we live in now. Because Jesus lives in us. Now! And the key is simply the Son obeying the Father. Not trying to follow in Jesus' foot steps--nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus--but letting Him make His own foot steps with our feet. Yesterday we talked about letting go and letting God. How giving a situation into God's hands doesn't mean we don't do anything. It simply means we let Him do what He wants to do in us, and through us, and as us. We give up the wheel, but we don't jump out of the car. We commit our plans to the Lord, and HE brings them to pass. By working through us. Working through you, and the people in your life. Working from the inside out. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. Because, bottom line, the thing God wants your obedience in... is life. Living and loving. Living BY loving. Letting God love you and loving Him back by loving people. That's the New Commandment for the New Man and that's how we obey God!