The masses of humanity wake up each morning with
their own agenda in mind. They rev up their caffeine driven adrenaline and
pursue their goals and desires for the day.
Many live in fear that they will miss out on some
imagined benefit that they are counting on receiving (Ecclesiastes 5:1). The
sad result of this behavior is that they fail to take advantage of the
opportunity that God gives us to obey Him and to live in His joy and peace on
this earth.
If they had only waited a little longer and walked
with God a little further, the effort of their obedience would bring more
lasting rewards than reaping the carnal results that they are looking for now (1
Samuel 13:13).
Whenever we live outside of God’s will, incalculable
anguish and desolation is inevitable both in this life and in the next (John
3:18); yet, living in God's will is the happiest place on earth.
If we walk in obedience to God's Spirit moment by
moment throughout our day, we grow in our knowledge of Christ, hear His voice
more readily, and reap the positive results of our behavior.
The tasks that God gives us fits into His overall
plan. We may not see the fruit of our efforts until years after the event. At
other times, we will not even know the effect of our obedience until eternity
dawns and God opens the eyes of our understanding.
This is not important, however. Delayed
gratification provides a way of gaining assured pleasure in the future. It is
like making deposits into our savings account.
We bring God glory with every obedient step we
take, regardless of the outcome. God wants complete devotion to Him from a
dedicated heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:33). Sometimes, that is the
only result for which He is looking.
Prayer:
Father God, do not allow us to depend on our human
abilities to solve the issues that life throws at us, because we crowd out Your
voice in the midst of the cacophony of static we experience in everyday life
(Galatians 5:15-25). If we do forget to follow You, we chance spending time now
and for eternity doomed to reaping the curse of our own decisions and actions
(John 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:3).
Help us not to suppress Christ's saving work in us,
or to grieve Your Holy Spirit's presence in our life by ignoring You throughout
our week. Remind us that we do not need to strive to keep every word of the law
in order to gain Your favor, because Your love is a free gift (John 3:16;
Romans 6:23).
Thought for the Day:
If we never repent of our willful disobedience and
totally submit to the will of God, we will spend eternity suffering more than we
have ever hurt in this lifetime.
