Psalm 40:8
“I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”
“I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”
I have a one year old English Cocker Spaniel named “Groovy”. She is a very playful and silly girl. I love her temperament and personality, well, except for maybe one thing. Groovy loves life so much that often times when she is called to come in from outside, she will not want to come in because she would rather stay outside and play. It was sort of cute when she was 6 months old to see her little wheels turning like “Ummmm….do I have to? I REALLY want to stay out here and play!” She’d dance around with her ears perked and eyes alert and wide. Then, I would have to walk out and get her…sometimes even chase her. Now, at a year old, she still stands outside when it is time to come in, but she stands real still with a pitiful look of “Awww….I was having so much fun and now it’s over!!” I still have to walk out to get her, only this time I do not have to chase her. She knows she will not win this “stand off”. I scoop her up, I cradle her in my arms, I give her smooches, and I assure her there will be more fun again later. She kisses back.
Obedience to the Lord is often a rough road to walk….at first. Early on, in our immaturity (or perhaps ignorance), we disobey God by backing away from Him and holding tight to that which we think we so badly want or need in life. We cling to our “moment”, we try to justify why we should be free to enjoy our “moment”, and we fight to keep our “moment”. When we mature a bit more, we begin to obey because we know God is the Authority…but, we still don’t like it and we still don’t understand why God has put a “restriction” on our personal freedoms. While it is good we obeyed, we have not yet moved into obeying from the heart…which is what God is really after. Why? Because when we get to the point where we obey from the heart, we are at a point where there is no “fighting”, but rather peace and joy. There is peace in not always having to understand the complete wisdom in what God asks of us through simply trusting that God is good, that His love is great, and that He has our best interest at heart. And, there is joy…joy because we know our obedience is pleasing to Him.
Where are we on our road to complete surrender to God and His will and His ways? My girl “Groovy” has traveled the rocky road to now the gravel road, but I am sure she’ll be cruising down that smooth, paved road very soon….especially when she realizes there is a free flowing stream of doggy biscuits awaiting her around that next bend. Perhaps God has our fondest delights and dreams awaiting us around the next bend on our journey? I suspect He does….if we will obey from our heart….and go there.
“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11
In Christ and covered in dog hair,
Debbie Owczarzak
2 comments:
Hey, glad you're back! For me the whole thing obedience hinges on is trust. If I trust that God is sovereign, that He is who He says He is, and does what He says He'll do, then obedience shouldn't be an issue. I see it with my kids when you can't say yes to something because you know it's not what's best for them. They don't trust that you know what you're talking about. I'm so thankful God is God, and not like me! I end up getting frustrated...He is always patient. I would like to comment more, and hope this makes sense...I am really tired and fighting a headache.
Hi Lisa. Yes, I have not had much time to write lately. Glad to hear from you. I understand what you are saying and I was going to work "trust" into the article but figured that was a whole other aspect of obedience and I would save it for another blog entry. :-) My Groovy hasn't yet entered the trust stage....she's only recently moved out of the
flat-out-rebellion stage. ;-) One step at a time...as long as it is forward. :-)
Hope your headache is better. Try some chocolate...that seems to fix everything for me. :-)
Deb
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