THE STRUGGLE TO OBEY

The Struggle to Obey

Gen 27:8        Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you.

Rebekah gave specific instructions to Jacob regarding the age and type of animal that she wanted, and he brought that which she asked for.

In the book we have been studying, Every Man’s Battle, it asserts that males of our species are rebellious by nature. It gives the example that Eve was deceived, but Adam knew what he was doing and rebelled against God in the garden.

Man has been rebelling ever since. My challenge is that I believe at the time that I am doing what I was instructed to, but I am doing more, doing it differently, or simply doing what I want to do that will accomplish the same thing.

The problem is injecting “my” into the equation. What I am actually doing is rebelling against God’s duly constituted authority.  And half the time I’m doing it with the wrong attitude, which should be one of servanthood and not leadership.

I take it upon myself to modify that which was asked of me. I am operating on my (there’s that word again) authority, when no such authority has been delegated to me. I have become a usurper of authority in each case.

The depth and magnitude of the problem is larger than simply doing things the wrong way. I have a problem with my hearing. My own agenda is rushing through my head, so that when I receive instruction I don’t always pay attention to the complete task, but rush off and half-do things. 

Conversely, I will try and accomplish a task by slotting it into my busy schedule, when it’s clearly an immediate priority. Even when working, if one of my customers calls with a need that requires immediate action, it disconnects me from the task I have been doing, I become disgruntled, and although I give it my immediate attention, it takes 10-15 minutes to get back into the swing of what I was doing.

The sticking point in this is that if it’s something which is in some way related to prayer, I gleefully abandon my finely laid plans, to rush into the throne room to intercede. When it’s a challenge presented by a human, it’s an inconvenience.

The truth of the matter is that to properly serve God, I must serve those He sends to me with His instructions or those who seek my help, willingly, cheerfully and without inserting my improvements, modifications or opinions  about the task.

1SAM15:22             And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

God told Saul through Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites, young and old and all the livestock but Saul did what he thought right in his own eyes, bringing the King of the Amalekites back to satisfy his own ego, together with some of the choicest livestock for sacrifice. Samuel never asked for a sacrifice nor had God. Saul though he would usurp Samuel’s position by offering that which was additional to God’s requirement.

Again his pride had interfered. On the way back Saul set up a monument to himself at Carmel then went down to Gilgal to meet Samuel. “What is this bleating of sheep which I hear he asked Saul?” Samuel became justifiably wroth with Saul for his disobedience to God.

Saul did what I do, in a search for personal credit, I will do other than what is required. If you ask for 4 cookies I will likely bring 6, If 2 pounds of potatoes are required I will buy 5 rationalizing in my head that 5 pounds costs less per pound when they come individually and we’ll end  up eating them anyway.

 I am continually inserting myself into the situation, instead of simply doing what’s requested. It is disobedience, and willfulness and I am sick at heart over it.

John 3:36     Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

This is perhaps the strongest admonition against my personal opinion and my personal influence that I have found in scripture. It reminds me of the old hymn, Trust and Obey. Seems pretty simple doesn’t it. Then why is it so hard to do? 

I believe it’s because I feel I am right in what I do even when I do it wrong or poorly or not according to standard. I am self-deceived and this self deception runs to the core of me. I am praying in all instances to be His man, I’m sick of being my own.

In order to avoid the wrath of God, which I surely want to avoid having been subject to His wrath in the past, obedience is not suggested or recommended but required of me.

Anyone else who is struggling with this problem knows exactly how it can undermine one’s usefulness to God, as people cannot trust you will do what is asked of you. When I turn in a spotty performance, it makes someone unwilling to trust me with further tasks or responsibility.

This is my own fault since I have not taken Paul’s suggestion and beaten my flesh into submission. To usurp, assume, or modify a given task is to show disdain for the task-giver, and I don’t want to second guess God or His servants.

HEB 4:11   Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

The struggle that lies within me, and to a certain extent within all of us is nothing short of the struggle between flesh and spirit. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit that the gifts would be made manifest in us and would bring death to the sin which ruled in my members but that sin keeps trying to resurrect itself. Last week someone made reference to it and said, “if you don’t hate that which God hates, you won’t hate your sin enough to change”.

Man, was I convicted. I hate what God hates when it’s EXTERNAL and have a strong distaste for it when it’s internal. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. The truth is that I’ll never be good enough that is why I must measure myself by His standard. When I can do that conscientiously and continuously I can grow in grace and in the fear and admonition of my Lord.

As a final grace note, the Lord woke me up at about 4:30 this morning with this clear revelation, and urged me to write it down.

The price of obedience is death to self, but a fuller richer more meaningful life in Christ Jesus.

Most Holy God, I pray that the spirit of disobedience which clings to me from my carnal life be stricken, shorn and ripped from me. I repudiate it, call it what it is sin and declare that it is crushed and demolished by the blood of my Saviour and by the power of the Spirit...in Jesus’ name...amen