Hard Obedience
I grew up learning the value of obedience. I learned that my parents were the first rule of law in my life and then I also learned about the laws of the land. I was tempted on more than one occasion to break the “laws” of my parents as well as the laws of the land. I don’t have the time or don’t want to take the time to confess all the times that I broke the guidelines of my parents and the law of the land. I think that there is curiosity in all of us when we are young to see where the boundaries are and put our “big toe” over the line of obedience to see what will happen to us. One think I learned about myself after becoming a parent is that because of my own experience with disobedience, I can usually pick up quickly on the disobedience of my children.
Jeremiah faces a situation where the people have been willfully disobedient. The Lord punished their country and them severely by orchestrating the takeover and capture of the city of Jerusalem and rest of their territory. There were a few people – a remnant left behind – mostly poor folks. They reached out to Jeremiah and asked him to approach the Lord for instructions. Check this out….
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. 6 Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 42:5-6 NIV)
This sounds like such a genuine prayer, but it’s also dangerous. The Lord will give instructions regarding my life and behavior, but it takes commitment and courage to follow what He asks of me. Sometimes the Lord asks me to do fairly radical stuff. Sometimes he asks me to give time or money to someone else. I’m working harder on listening carefully as He speaks into me. I’m also getting more and more confident regarding obedience to His directions and His instructions. The consequences of obedience are stronger faith. The consequences of disobedience are a dismantling of my faith. I want to obey Him even when it’s hard.
Pressing On!
Dwayne