Lately, God has been fine tuning my obedience in walking
in His Spirit, and weaning me from relying on my own humanistic thinking. The
other day, we were doing our quarterly shopping at Walmart, and I felt led to
go to the shoe section to look for a pair of pool shoes on sale.
I immediately thought about my very comfortable pool shoes at home, made by Speedo of the highest quality of materials. Instead of shopping for pool shoes, I spent the rest of the shopping time praising God for my wonderful, comfortable, sturdy pool shoes.
I felt such gratitude in my heart for God’s provision of those shoes for me. This flowed into praise for His generous provision in every area of my life.
I immediately thought about my very comfortable pool shoes at home, made by Speedo of the highest quality of materials. Instead of shopping for pool shoes, I spent the rest of the shopping time praising God for my wonderful, comfortable, sturdy pool shoes.
I felt such gratitude in my heart for God’s provision of those shoes for me. This flowed into praise for His generous provision in every area of my life.
The next day...the very next day...my Speedo pool shoes
were stolen at the pool while I exercised!!! This resulted in a week without
pool shoes. Reduced to wearing my shower shoes instead, I rubbed bruises in the
bones of my toes as I walked in these flip-flops.
God's Spirit knew about the coming theft, and He wanted to provide for me, but I disobeyed His leading.My disobedience cost me more than a lack of pool shoes; it also cost me intimacy with our Daddy God, and an opportunity to see His abundant provision in action before I ever knew I needed it.
Obedience proves our love for God (John 14:15); and in this instance, I grieved the Holy Spirit, because of my disobedience (Ephesians 4:30). I am sure God appreciated my praise, but He was attempting to supply my unforeseen need according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).
I was able to purchase a cheap pair of new pool shoes online and they work great...but I have bruised toe bones to remind me of the consequences of leaning on my own understanding, rather than obeying the direction of God's Holy Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-6).
God's Spirit knew about the coming theft, and He wanted to provide for me, but I disobeyed His leading.My disobedience cost me more than a lack of pool shoes; it also cost me intimacy with our Daddy God, and an opportunity to see His abundant provision in action before I ever knew I needed it.
Obedience proves our love for God (John 14:15); and in this instance, I grieved the Holy Spirit, because of my disobedience (Ephesians 4:30). I am sure God appreciated my praise, but He was attempting to supply my unforeseen need according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).
I was able to purchase a cheap pair of new pool shoes online and they work great...but I have bruised toe bones to remind me of the consequences of leaning on my own understanding, rather than obeying the direction of God's Holy Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Prayer:
Father God, many people would believe that this
illustration of obedience is straining at a gnat, and that You have more
important things for us to focus on than pool shoes. However, the issue in this
case was my obedience in walking in Your Spirit, and the shoes were simply a
tool You used to teach me this lesson.
Thank You for providing such a simple
object lesson, to prepare me in the future to act more vigilantly in my
obedience in every area of my life. As I am in-tune with Your peace and Your
Word in every moment of my day, You will lead me by Your Spirit and You will
prepare me for every future contingency that I will ever face as I walk in Your
will for me.
Thought for the Day:
Obedience is better than sacrifice; or in this case, obedience
is better than praising. – Acts 17:11
