Obedience >>> Results

1 Kings 8:54–9:28, Mark 6:7–44, Proverbs 2:16–22

About three years ago I asked God to work in my heart so that I was totally yielded to Him. Little did I realize that was a dangerous request.

First He allowed the enemy to hammer at my weakest places. It took time to realize this was His way of answering my prayer. In the battle for my allegiance, I knew the Lord was changing my life, but at times I wished I had not asked for such a transformation.

Despite the challenges Solomon faced, he knew the importance of total commitment. At the end of his prayer of dedication concerning the temple, he arose and blessed the people. He reminded them that the Lord’s promises had not failed, and that He would not leave or forsake them. He would give them all they needed to walk in His ways, and they knew there was no other God like Him.

Then Solomon said, “Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” (1 Kings 8:54–61)

That also is my prayer and desire. While the battle for this focus may continue the rest of my life, I am also thankful that God keeps His promise to give me what I need to be wholly committed to Him. In his proverbs, Solomon says that if I receive God’s words, treasure His commandments, be attentive to wisdom and understanding, calling out for insight and seeking it like for hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1–4) then He will deliver me from all sorts of temptations such as those coming from evil people or forbidden relationships. Instead, I will “walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.” (Proverbs 2:20–21)

Obedience produces positive results, yet I cannot assume this means ‘health, wealth, and prosperity’ for Jesus was wholly obedient and it got Him crucified!

That said, Jesus did demonstrate how He wants me to live. Today I read the story of how He fed more than 5000 people. He had been teaching them and when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

Jesus asked, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

They found out, and reported back, “Five, and two fish.”

Here is where the obedience becomes dicey. After Jesus commanded the crowd to sit down in groups on the green grass and they did so in groups of hundreds and fifties. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. (Mark 6:35–44)

What would I have done had I been there? Five loaves and two fish for so many? Jesus must not be thinking rationally? How can so many people be fed with so little?

I feel now like I probably would have felt then. The needs around me are so great and who am I? My resources are so small, not at all equal to the task. Yet if Jesus commanded me to ‘feed them all’ would I take the small amount He gives me and whole-heartedly do what He asks, without question or protest?

The disciples did. And the people “all ate and were satisfied.” Then the disciples “took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish” showing that obedience can produce such amazing and unexpected results when Jesus is trusted to take what little is offered and do with it whatever He wants to do. Actually, it isn’t obedience that produces results; it is Jesus.

Walking by Faith

1 Kings 7:1–51, Mark 4:26–5:20, Proverbs 1:28–33, Ephesians 5:25–29

My hubby doesn’t like novels with lots of description. He is looking for action first, then dialog. When reading the Old Testament, I sometimes want to skim through the detailed descriptions of how the temple was built. However, I realize that the building of Solomon’s temple and the growth of my spiritual life as well as the growth of God’s kingdom have similar characteristics — all three require extensive labor with results that can only be attributed to God! Yet those results may not come for weeks, months, or even years.

This morning, 1 Kings describes the incredible temple built by Solomon. It was God’s design, large and intricate, yet built in a short time. Most structures like this took a lifetime.

One verse popped out: “(Solomon’s) own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage.” (1 Kings 7:8)

I’ve often compared the state of my own house with what is going on in my life. When I get scattered with too many things on my mind, my home often looks like someone turned it upside down and shook it. This comparison extends to dreams. When I dream about a house I am living in, it reflects how I feel about my life. Sometimes it is large and spacious, sometimes small and stuffed with clutter.

For that reason, I noticed that Solomon’s work on the temple was solid and beautiful. He built his own house in the same manner, as he did with the house for his wife. This reminded me of a NT passage concerning marriage. God tells husbands: “Love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.” (Ephesians 5:25–29)

The man is not only responsible to take care of his own life, but also the life of his wife. Solomon did it, giving the same care to his wife as himself, but not only that, the same care as he did in building the temple. These principles connect. Besides that three-fold connection, God’s people are to care for the spiritual lives of everyone, working with diligence and excellence so that all of us become all that we can be to glorify God.

Another parallel to the construction of Solomon’s temple is how the growth happens. We work at it, yet the results are God’s not ours. We do what we should do, but He makes happen the fruit of godliness.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come . . . With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:26–32)

Paul later wrote that we plant and water, but God provides the growth. Again, my task is to obey God in planting, nurturing, but it is also important that I trust Him for the results.

That He works with us is amazing, but what happens if I refuse to do my part? And is there any guarantee when I am obedient?

Solomon describes what happens to those who become lax with spiritual disciplines for their own life or who neglect to build up the spiritual lives of others through prayer and discipleship. In the same passage, he also adds the results for obedience:

“(Those who disobey) will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” (Proverbs 1:28–33)

Obedience can appear deeply difficult, particularly if the results are not instant, and disobedience can be more appealing because it may give instant gratification. No wonder that God tells me to walk by faith and not by sight!

Am I in God’s will?

In Randy Alcorn’s book, “The Treasure Principle,” he draws a dot with an arrow coming out from it. The dot represents this life, small with an end to it. The arrow represents eternity, never-ending and enormous. He challenges his readers to focus on laying up eternal treasure by obedience to God. Anyone who fills their life with things only in the dot will find that all of it eventually winds up in the dump.
 

His book, my age, and the lack of time to do all that my ambition imagines make me think about the value of those items on my daily to-do list. How important is it to have a clean house, finish a quilt, rewrite an old article, or publish the Bible studies I’ve written? In terms of eternity, these things might not matter at all — or they could be part of the plan of God. 

Sometimes this is an easy question to answer. In the case of the disciples, after Jesus was crucified and had risen and appeared to them, for some reason Peter figured it was all over and he should go back to his old life.

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. (John 21:3)

The result was zilch. The author of today’s devotional reading says, “God may let the sinful world succeed in their forbidden schemes, but, blessed be His name, He does not allow His chosen ones to prosper in the path which leads them out of His holy will! He has a storm to send after every Jonah, and an empty net for every unbelieving and inconsistent Simon.”

This is true, yet God can guide His people in many ways, such as putting brick walls in our path or, as He did here, and make our wrong efforts totally fruitless. But if nothing comes from what I do, does that mean I am out of the will of God? Paul was careful about making such determinations.

Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (1 Corinthians 4:2–5)

The problem with checking for results from my efforts is that some of them will not be seen in the dot. For instance, I might give testimony to the grace of God to someone and they do not respond at all. Yet God uses what I said to bring them closer to Him on their spiritual journey. I may never see that here in the dot, but will know about it in eternity. 

The other problem that I have with results is this; if there are none, I become easily discouraged. Being results-orientated makes it easier to clean house and make quilts than it does to record my devotions in this blog and pray every day, often for people I’ve never met. I can see the shine in my sinks and enjoy the colors in my quilts, yet usually have no idea if God is using my prayers to change lives. In this, I must live by faith. Without faith,  I would quit praying.

Deciding what to do each day is always a matter of the heart. Why am I doing it? Is it for my glory? To impress others? To make my life easier or more enjoyable? If so, then I might be out of the will of God. However, if I am doing a thing for God’s glory, or to help someone else, or simply because He put it on my heart to do it, then instead of looking for results, I need to trust Him that I am doing the right things.

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Lord, walking by faith is never as easy as evaluating what I do by the results, or it seems that way. Actually, much of what You ask of me can have visible results or not, yet Your Word clearly describes what is in Your will and what is not. Besides this clear direction from the Bible, You often give me a sense of Your presence and pleasure to affirm that I’m on the right path. That is a result of sorts, and one that gives me assurance. For life in this dot, knowing You are with me is all that I need.

“Do you work?”

Today’s culture tends to look down on women without a career, and full-time mothers are not included. However, this was the decision in our home. My husband has a good job and I stayed home to raise our children. So people ask, “Do you work?”

In the beginning, I never knew what to say, but felt somewhat defensive. The tone of the question seemed to indicate that if I didn’t, I wasn’t worth much. The question really bothered me.

Since those early days, I have learned the value of staying home to raise a family. Children need the presence of their parents. But I still get asked, sometimes in past tense. I feel no need to defend myself now, but still want to smack people for assuming that every woman goes to work outside the home. With that attitude, and depending on who offered the question, I’ve given various answers from, “You bet I do” to “No, I’m a kept woman.”

That is far too flippant. I should tell people that, by the grace of God, I was privileged to be at home when my family most needed me. I am also privileged to have much to keep me busy now, even though some have exclaimed, “How do you keep from being bored?” Boredom is seldom part of my life because my heavenly Father has plenty of work for anyone willing to jump in and do it.

Another reason that I should not be flippant is found in the verses that I read this morning. If I am obeying God, everything that I do is an incredible honor and my attitude should match the privilege of serving the Holy One who created me. The verses say:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

As a child of God, I am called to love and serve Him. There is no higher calling, no more important employment. Scripture affirms how the things that I do in obedience to God will have a lasting impact and produce eternal results.

What employers can offer that? They may promise interesting or exciting work, fulfillment for each employee, good benefits and a large pay cheque, but none of them can say what I do in their employ will forever make a difference. Unless I give my heart and my efforts to God in wherever I am doing, it is merely a job.

That being said, I need to rethink how I respond to people who are curious about what I do or did. Instead of defending myself in my answer, I should be praising God. He allowed me to raise three children who are involved in the marketplace. I’ll never know what would have happened had they been left in the care of baby sitters or daycare, but our kids work hard, and are not moochers or bums or in jail. For that, I am thankful and I need to say so.

I also need to remember that those verses tell me to walk worthy of my calling as a Christian. That means I should be humble and patient, thinking more about others than myself. If I want to have a positive impact for God and eternity, that leaves out being a smart aleck.