Submission is always a prerequisite to resistance…

 

God hears the needs of our hearts. Yesterday, a big decision was confusing because of my emotions. Weighing the options didn’t help. Making a list of pros and cons didn’t help. I had a few strong I wants on both sides and had no sense of God’s will, except realizing how easy it can be to read His will according to my ‘I wants’ —as in giving emotions the power instead of looking for truth.

However, this morning I wondered if I should think of the negatives of both choices and see if that helps. But before I could grab paper and pen, this came to mind:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:1–11)

Ha! That is one thing that had never occurred to me; that the choices presented are a test. Do I know who is presenting at least one of them? Is the devil trying to get me to jump off a cliff so I can have something that appeals to me and using “God will help me do this” as an excuse to consider taking the leap?

Immediately my mixed emotions were gone. This does not mean that the devil is behind the choices; they could be an opportunity from God. Yet if the opportunity appeals to my flesh and will draw me away from genuine worship, then the devil is trying to twist it so that the will of God is thwarted. Thinking this could be a trap gave clarity. Making this decision is no longer muddled because of my personal ‘I wants’ — being clarified. God does this very well:

It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

In this case, it was not His will that first needed to be revealed, but that my will was clarified, changed or settled to want His will, no matter what it is. This could apply to many choices, such as  buy or sell, go or stay, say something or shut up.

Not only that, experience shows that the devil is able to use any option or choice as a temptation — if I am not clear on how I am thinking about it. In this case, a couple of strong I wants and a list of logical reasonings were not helping me do that. God made it black and white: Me — or the enemy? And that booted my wishes off to the side as non-issues.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Now I’ve done the first part and the second part and waiting to see if the devil takes the options with him or if this is a choice that God presents to us for our good and His glory.

PRAY: Jesus, I’ve shared this with my spouse. He and our son are going to decide, and I am totally okay with whatever decision they make. I do not want to “put You to the test” with the option that seems totally impossible, but if You will be glorified in it, that’s okay. I also will not balk or be unhappy with the easier choice and will worship and serve You no matter what. Thank You for giving me clarity on how to think about this!

Truth transforms my life

My sister became a Christian in a far-away country where Christianity was and still is illegal. She came home to discover that I also had become a Christian. She told me to have daily devotions using the method taught to her by a missionary (who was also not legally allowed in that country).

Her instruction was simple: Read John five times and Romans twice, then the NT and the OT. Read until God speaks to me then write the date, Bible reference, and what I understood from the reading. This served well for many years.

After a time, I realized that every line in the Bible was truth from God, even the parts that describe human sin. It was written in the Bible because God wanted it to be there and wanted me to know it. While many people pick and choose the parts they want to believe, or only believe the parts they understand, I can see this book is not a manual for theologians or even casual reading. It is truth revealed that I might know God.

Understanding this may have come easy for some, but my mind is wired to solve puzzles, enjoy mysteries, seek answers, and find reasons for everything. I’m a ‘hard sell’ in that if someone tries to convince me that I should have a product or do something, I will resist it. I want to discover for myself whether the sales claims are true and the more I am pushed, the more I resist. I’m the opposite of gullible, but at the same time, once convinced, stick solidly to what I believe.

Sadly, if convinced a lie is true, that causes me great conflict and pain — showing me the reality of why I need Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Without God’s saving power, who knows where I would be and without the Book of books, who knows what I would believe.

This is the power of God’s Word. Because it is not a book of theories but of actual facts, it feeds my mind with the right stuff. As today’s devotional says, things are not true because they are in the Bible; they are only in the Bible because they are true. When it tells me that God loves me, this is a fact. Otherwise, it would not be in the Bible. Solomon wrote:

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (Proverbs 30:5)

Jesus and the NT point out that knowing the truth must be followed up by obedience to it. If told the truth that eating junk food would affect my health and I simply kept eating it, could I expect otherwise? It is the same with truth from God:

But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21)

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28)

The Word of God changes lives — as long as it is believed and obeyed:

You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)

PRAY: Jesus, it is one thing to read listening for a special word from You, and delightful that for the past fifty plus years You speak to me every day. I’m amazed at You. This truth is in place only because ALL of the Bible is You speaking. I cannot control or even be certain I will hear those special words — only be glad in Your faithfulness, but I can believe whatever has been written and know that as I read it and do what it says, You transform my life.

Just Do It

These days, many people allow emotions to rule over truth. For them, what feels good is more important what is right or the best action.

This way of thinking also happens in Christian circles. Those who are gifted with a great deal of compassion are often drawn more to whatever will produce emotional stability or whatever is practical. They do not like confrontation or emotional stress. This is part of the gift of compassion, but it can tip too far. For instance, when faced with some decisions they show their desire for calm waters, they start asking like, “How will it make me (or us) feel?” or “Will it divide?” or “Will it offend?” instead of “Is it true?” or “Is it the will of God?”

To be fair, those gifted in teaching focus on the principles of Scripture and thinking right. Those who are servers see the Bible differently than those who are gifted in leadership. Our gifting does give us the ability to see what others might miss, and we are to serve one another with those gifts. However, we are also to use them rightly and in ways that honor God.

I need compassion people and I like to feel good, but I also need to make sure of what the Bible actually says. I cannot bend it to whatever I or others might want it to say, and when I read it with an open heart, I know that life will not always feel good, even when I am obedient to God. For instance, 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

To live by what feels good could put me in direct disobedience. I need to be more concerned about what is true and right. Luke wrote the book of Acts and told of a group of Jews that were concerned to find truth. 

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Acts 17:10-11)

The words “fair-minded” are literally “noble-minded” because they were interested in finding truth, not good feelings or pleasant circumstances. They did not have a “what is in this for me” attitude.

Not all people are like the people of Berea. My devotional reading points out that far too many people go to church today to get a certain feeling rather than think or weigh what is said and make sure it is true (using the Bible, of course). By letting their emotions rule instead of right thinking, their spiritual lives are certain to become unstable.

These believers in Berea received the Word of God with readiness, eagerly welcoming the truth. They also wanted to find out if what they were hearing matched up with what the Scriptures said. This is interesting because the New Testament was not yet written. All they had was the Old Testament. Many modern day Christians tend to mentally separate the two sections of the Bible, forgetting that the early Christians had nothing else but the older Scriptures. By careful study, these early Christians could compare what they were hearing (and what we can now read) with what they already had. The Scriptures were their measuring stick, not their emotions.

While that kind of Bible study takes work, I can imagine what it did for their faith. They could see the hand of God throughout their history leading up to the days they were living when Jesus walked this earth and died for their sins, all described and foretold in their sacred manuscripts.

Bible colleges offer courses in Bible Synthesis, but Christians do not have to go to Bible school to discover the harmony between the two sections of the Bible. What we need more is that noble-mindedness of the Bereans who gladly did their homework. That would help all of us, including me, better live by the Word of God and abandon this feel-good philosophy that keeps us from being lights that shine in a dark place.