Ahh! God, these people here are ridiculous! They would rather watch you struggle in the snow then help you out, box you in at the grocery store rather than let you by and talk behind your back than be honest with you! Lord, I am just so fed up! I hate it here-I want to move and I feel like we should already be in ministry. I feel like we are waiting, and have been for 2 years now. I'm so sick of Oklahoma!
***This is just some of my daily rantings, put nicely***And God has called my attention to it. Specifically to my attitude, my lack of obedience, and my tendency to complain.***
I want to share with you some verses that I read today and then a lesson God has used on me this week for Obedience.
"Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." Psalm 34:3-5
I want to be known as a woman with whom radiance flows! How beautiful is that?! I want to be know as a woman who SEEKS the Lord FIRST. I read this and see how much God has been there for me. There are so many fears that He has taken away, and many holes that he has filled in my life-The least I can do as His creation is to SEEK Him.
"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.He gathers the waters of the sea into jars, he puts the deep into storehouses.Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm." Psalm 33:6-9
Simply Beautiful.
I want to be a radiant woman of God who has reverence for God. Who finally has obedience and finds HIS blessings for my life, not what I think blessings should be.
******Obedience******
God's been laying it on my heart lately to reflect on my obedience to Him. I've made it quite known that I don't like being here, and I always find something to complain about. Which is why the following sermon that I listened to the other day was that much more humbling. This is a sermon by Charles Stanley, and you can find it on his website, but here are the sermon notes.
Obedience Always Brings Blessing
Charles F. Stanley
Memory Verse: Psalm 24:1-5
I. Introduction: I define a blessing as any expression of God’s goodness and love toward us. Answered prayer, miraculous provision, and unexpected favor are some examples. We easily recognize these as God’s gifts. But sometimes He chooses to bless us in different ways. For instance, He grants us strength and joy in the midst of hardship, and He uses our suffering to help us mature spiritually.
When we obey God, we can trust that He will display His goodness and love to us. Those who are wise will watch for His blessings in all their different forms.
II. Biblical Examples
A. Noah’s obedience saved his family from the flood.
B. Abraham’s obedience resulted in his becoming the father of a great nation, God’s chosen people, Israel.
C. Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage.
D. Joshua won the battle of Jericho by following God’s supernatural strategy.
E. David refused to harm Saul, the anointed king.
F. Jehoshaphat relied on God’s word when the Ammonites attacked Judah.
G. Peter obeyed Jesus’ command to fish in the heat of day.
H. Paul followed God’s will and took the gospel to the Gentiles.
III. Types of Blessing
God’s gifts aren’t always obvious. But when you obey Him, He may bless you with:
A. Peace, joy, and contentment. These internal qualities often result when we step out in faith and obey God.
B. Spiritual growth. We will have more faith to obey the next time God challenges us to do something.
C. Eternal blessings. When we stand before God on judgment day, we will be rewarded for our obedience (see Mark 9:41; Luke 6:21-23).
IV. Suffering Before Blessing
Often, the first effect of obedience is not blessing, but suffering. Sometimes, what God requires of us will initially lead to pain and sadness. We shouldn’t assume that difficulty means we’ve made a mistake or that He has abandoned us. Let’s look at two significant examples of suffering as an initial result of obedience:
A. Moses followed God’s command to lead His people out of Egypt. Not only did the leader experience difficulty in freeing the Israelites from bondage; the people also complained bitterly about life in the dessert once they were released. Despite these and other challenges, Moses is known as the most important leader in the Old Testament.
B. Paul obeyed God by preaching the gospel. As a result, he suffered tremendous persecution, danger, and physical abuse (2 Cor. 11:23-27). However, because he was imprisoned, the apostle had time to write his epistles to the Colossians, Philippians, Ephesians, and Philemon. His obedience resulted in supernatural blessing (see 2 Tim. 4:7).
V. God’s Purposes for Our Suffering
A. To bring us to the end of ourselves. We become most useful to the Lord when we rely on Him completely. If we respond correctly to loss and suffering, we will find blessing through it.
B. To prevent pride. Suffering reminds us that all good things are gifts from God and not earned by our own efforts.
C. To remove idols from our lives. Worshipping anything other than God is a problem. He causes all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). So if He removes a good thing from our lives, He must have a purpose, even if we can’t see it at the time.
D. To deepen our understanding of His ways. When God does something and we aren’t sure why, we can anticipate learning something new about how He operates.
E. To demonstrate His faithfulness to His children. In suffering, you and I have the opportunity to become living examples of the goodness of God. As others watch how we respond to overwhelming adversity, they recognize His loving care.
VI. Conclusion:
If you obey God, can you expect His blessings? Yes. But remember that His choice of blessing may be different from yours. Perhaps He will use suffering to draw you closer to Himself. Or He may use it to remove from your life those things that hinder fruitfulness for Him. No matter what, if you walk in His will, He will bless you in surprising ways.
Copyright 2011 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.
