WHAT IS THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR OBEDIENCE?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord
is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who
are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may
have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from
them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them
will be broken.
(Psalm 34:17-20)
MEDITATION:
When you have problems, what do you do? Do you try to resolve
them by yourself…alone? Do you seek the help of a family member
or friend? Do you talk about them with others with a hope that
they will soon go away? Or, do you seek help from the Lord?
The Lord cares for the righteous more than we may ever know this
side of heaven. When the righteous have troubles, the Lord hears
their cries. We may ask, “How do we cry out to Him?” We cry out
to Him through prayer; it is our way of continuing to connect with
our Creator!
Whenever the righteous are brokenhearted, the Lord is
always close by. When we are living righteously, we can
sense His presence (it comforts us to know He is nearby).
When our spirits have been crushed, the Lord is there to
save us from the things, or people, who crush our spirits.
How does He save us? He comforts us and assures us that
our spirit will not be permanently crushed. When we know
that our crushed spirit will come to an end, it gives us hope.
Our spirit can be crushed by:
– Disappointments in others.
– Pressures of the responsibilities of life
(jobs, raising a family, etc.)
– Feelings that our best efforts are not good enough.
– Exclusion from others.
– Gossip or untruths about us from our circle of friends.
– Financial debts.
– Health concerns of others, or ourselves.
– Loss of jobs with no current prospects of a new one.
– A child who has been making bad choices.
– Overwhelming guilt over the sin in our lives.
– Loss of a loved one.
– Feelings that God is far away from us.
There are many other things that can crush our spirit but when
we look at the scriptures above, we can see that the righteous
are not immune to having troubles in the broken world we live
in. In fact, we are told that we may have many problems.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.
(Psalm 34:19)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those
in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are
wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by
day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving
for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we
fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
In the midst of our problems we need to remember that it can be
a time of renewing our spirit. We realize that we simply cannot
have our spirits restored in our own strength, and we acknowledge
our need for the Lord and His help as we live each day.
All of these promises are directed toward the righteous. So, who
are the righteous? They are believers who have surrendered to
the Lord. When we totally submit to Him, we can realize our full
potential. However, when we hold on to certain areas of our life,
it is evidence of our selfishness (selfishness will prevent us from
maximizing our potential).
As an analogy, think about hot water.
When the temperature reaches 211 degrees, it is really hot, but it
still hasn’t reach the point of being productive. However, when
the temperature reaches 212 (the boiling point) it produces steam
that can be used to power a steam engine and move the weight of
a huge locomotive. A power that not only moves the locomotive,
but it also moves the many cars attached to it.
Now, imagine that ‘being righteous’ is the equivalent of ‘water at
212 degrees’. Let’s assume that 212 is the point at which we are
fully committed to the Lord and are usable in His ministry. Less
than 212 may be moving in the right direction, but still falls short
of the point at which we achieve our full potential.
Less than 212 (full surrender) is a sign we not totally surrendered
to the Lord. It could mean we are clinging tightly to the tithe that
belongs to Him. It could mean that we know His commands, but we
have created our own list of the ones we will obey, and the ones we
will ignore. Failure to obey all of His commands will keep us short
of reaching our full potential.
If we have not reached the point of total surrender, does it mean that
we are not righteous? Maybe, or maybe not; only the Lord can answer
that question. He reads the heart of His people, so He knows the sincerity
of our relationship with Him. We can fool others by quoting scriptures,
talking righteous, and hiding our sins, but we cannot mislead the Lord.
Others may perceive us as being faithful in ALL things, but how does
God see us? He knows when we choose to disobey Him and how we try
to justify our disobedience in an effort to minimize our feelings of guilt.
Partial obedience is still disobedience, whether we like it or not!
If we are at 212 or above, does that mean we no longer fail in our
obedience? No, but it does mean that we have a heart for obeying
God and His commands. We know His commands and we have a
desire in our heart to obey all of them, and not just a select group
of the ones we like. Submitting to the Lord means we will make
genuine efforts to obey all His commands, including the ones that
are difficult for us.
We know that God has many “don’t” commands (don’t steal, don’t
murder, don’t worship other idols, don’t disrespect parents, etc.). We
know that He also has many “do” commands (do love each other,
do treat others the way you want to be treated, do meet with other
believers to worship Him, do tithe, etc.).
Some of His commands may be more difficult than others, and if
we expect to obey them, we will more than likely have to leave
our comfort zone. However, when we make a conscious effort to
obey all of His commands, we will discover new blessings from God.
Take tithing as an example:
Some believers struggle with this command. Other people can
observe our ‘faith in action’, but tithing is a private expression
of faith between the Lord and us. When we obey His command
to tithe, we are expressing our trust in the Lord…to Him. We
have accepted His command and committed to returning what
already belongs to Him.
His Word tells us that when we do not tithe, we are robbing
from Him, and that means we are guilty of disobedience of
His command ‘do not steal’. God says,
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob
me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
In tithes and offerings.”
(Malachi 3:8)
Since God does not ‘need’ our tithes, then it must be something for
our benefit, right? How could tithing be beneficial to us? It is one
of the opportunities God has given us to prove that we not only
love Him, but we also trust His promises to provide for our needs.
Satan tries to convince us that we cannot return to the Lord what
belongs to Him. He knows that if he can keep us from obeying one
command, then he can convince us to justify our disobedience of
other commands from the Lord. When we allow him to control us,
we will find ourselves redirecting a portion of our love of God and
others, to a love of money and possessions.
ACTION:
Imagine the blessing of knowing that God is there to provide for
us no matter how bleak our situation may seem. He hears our cries
for help, He delivers us from our troubles, He stays close to us when
we are brokenhearted, He saves us from our crushed spirits, and
He protects us.
What is the temperature of your spiritual commitment?
Do you have a list of God’s commands you choose to obey,
or do you have a heart for obeying all of them? Are you
achieving your full potential of being part of His ministry?
Do you have a sincere desire to serve God using the gifts and
talents He has given you? Have you shown the Lord through
your obedience that….
(1) You love Him,
(2) You trust Him to provide for you, and
(3) You want to enjoy the blessings He has for the righteous
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know what is in my heart. You
know if I am sincere in my faith and trust in You. You
know if I have chosen to obey all Your commands or
just the ones that I like, and the ones that are easy.
Forgive me if I have failed to consider the importance
of obeying all of Your commands. I know that I cannot
deal with the problems of life in my own strength. I need
Your strength and blessings to cope with the issues I face.
Help me in my efforts to achieve the level of righteousness
that You desire of those who claim to love You. Give me a
heart for obedience, and forgive me for the times when I
succumb to temptations.”
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