Obedience

What’s on your mind? What do you find yourself thinking about? What are the default thoughts that occupy your mental energy?

Job survived. He endured heartache, heartbreak, physical pain, and mostly bad counsel from his so-called friends. In today’s passage, Job even prays for them! And God blessed Job by giving him twice as much as he had before. God blessed the latter part of his life more than the first.

“Be a light!” That’s what Beth Ann Schaeber said to her boys every day. Before she dropped them off at a friend’s house or their sporting event or when they walked out the door to go to school, “Be a light!” was the last thing they heard. They responded, “Shine bright!” Beth Ann knew that she was sending her kids into a dark world. She knew that they had been called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light to reflect the light of Jesus. The apostle Paul gave us the same challenge.

In Scripture, the heart refers to the control center of one’s life. It is the central point of our thoughts, desires, and actions. We must guard it with all diligence. Proverbs 4:23 says that the springs of life flow from our hearts. In the spiritual battle, our hearts must be protected with the breastplate of righteousness.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Satan says. “And it’s the right time to do it.” God’s timing, his destination, and the way to get to the destination are always perfect, but Satan wants us to work in his time frame, follow his path, and get to his desired destination. His way always involves a shortcut from the road of obedience. That was the essence of the third temptation in the desert.

It was going to be a tough meeting. Those sitting around the table had some serious issues with each other. You could feel the tension—so thick you could cut it with a knife, as the saying goes. I knew this time together could blow up in my face. If it ended with me having to make a judgment, someone would leave the church. I also knew no one in the room was squeaky clean on this one. So, I began by reading Ephesians 4:32.

When we pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are putting forth a risky offering. We are asking that God’s perfect will be worked through our lives. And we are placing ourselves in submission to that perfect will. For Jesus, that meant death—even death on a cross! What will that prayer mean for you? I don’t know what it will mean, but here are some things it could mean.

Let’s face it. We are most troubled when we act in disobedience. When we’ve decided that our way is best, chaos reigns, and anxiety is amplified! On any road trip away from God, our personal fear rides shotgun. But the fear of the Lord is different. The fear of the Lord is clean and clear, like a mountain spring flowing from a life that demonstrates refreshing obedience. The unpolluted life follows God’s Word. There is no getting around it. Storms will come, and sometimes they are unleashed in our lives. Personal storms come through unmet expectations and unfulfilled dreams. Sometimes clouds of darkness from illness and grief build in our hearts: disappointment, discouragement, disillusionment, and depression rain in our souls. But amid the storm—God is our stronghold!

Welcome to Promises in the Psalms—a devotional series purposed to glean the great promises of God from Israel’s book of worship. In this collection of prayers, songs, laments, and crying out to God, we will find rich promises to form the foundation of our journey. Let’s begin with the first psalm to ascertain where the believer’s delight is found.