Partial obedience is not obedience...

"But Samuel replied: 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you as king." - 1 Samuel 15:22


And with those words, Saul's reign over Israel was over. He was no longer king. 


Why?


Because partial obedience is not obedience.  Saul was given clear instructions from the Lord but CHOSE to change them up a bit; CHOSE to do things a little differently.  His choices showed arrogance by thinking he knew better than God on how the plan should be carried out.  Oh, he followed MOST of the instructions, perhaps 80-90% of the instructions were carried out; he only modified them in two areas.  Subtle. Seemingly insignificant tweaks.  Saul later would justify these tweaks by saying he only did them to honor God.  Hmm....


Yet, the Lord did not count that as obeying His word.  And neither should we.


How many times have I counted following most of God's instructions as complete obedience?


How many times have I tweaked God's word to appease myself, yet still count it as obedience?


How many times have I justified sidestepping, ever so subtly, a command of the Lord to continue down the path that I have chosen, yet still telling myself that I'm honoring God?  


This isn't just about the specific, life-calling commands, either.  This about all of God's word, in its entirety.  You know, those commands for our daily living that we are all called to - the 70x7 rule; 'don't gossip' rule (that is repeated over and over); the command to use my time wisely; to be self-disciplined; do not complain or argue; be slow to anger... the list could go on and on.


The point through Saul's story is that God doesn't want our sacrifices and offerings AS MUCH AS He wants our obedience. No!  He wants our obedience above all else! Saul is a case study in what percentage God's wants our obedience as well.  50% obedient?  How about 80%?  Or 98% but I'm just gonna change this one, little, itty-bitty detail over here???  Is that accepting and pleasing to God?  Nope.  He wants 100%.  


He demands 100% from us. From me.  Like Saul, when we give 80-90%, we are still keeping us on the throne of our heart and trying to share the King's chair.  We are still staking claim to being in control - even at 5%.  That 5% (or whatever percentage is held back to control) is rebellion and arrogance.  Not my words.  God's word. 


When I chose to modify, tweak or otherwise hold back even an ever so small portion of my heart and, thus, my obedience, I have made myself an idol and pitted myself against God in competing for who gets to be in control.I must submit to the Lord completely and in full compliance; not thinking I have the authority to tweak His instruction or that I have a better way of doing things.  Now, THAT is arrogant!  May I not repeat Saul's mistake of holding back a portion of my obedience and may my heart be soft and open to submitting to God's instructions for me. 


Father God, forgive me for not always giving you 100% obedience.  Help me to  keep my heart submissive to Your instructions.  Help me to walk your path and not my own, or even a path someone else wants me to walk.  Let me not get in the way of Your work in me, through me and through others.  Amen.




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Others...

When you think about how much others have influence on you - your thoughts, decisions, opinions - it begs the question if that is God's intended purpose for our lives. If I'm not careful, I find that I am thoughtlessly following along with the crowd that has chosen to speak the loudest,most convincingly or most urgently, without actually weighing the truth of the situation. It is only when I step back from the noise and emotions of others, that I can begin to hear His voice through it all.
It is so easy to get swept up in the thought of other-mindedness - living and deciding based on those around us, instead of the One who should guide our thoughts and decisions. I would describe other-mindedness as caring more about what others think of me, my children, my family, my decisions, my life - than what God thinks. When we find ourselves in other-mindedness mindset, we need to flee from it.

Time and again, I'm reminded of this lesson and He asks me "Who are you listening to?". When I respond to others' emotions, thoughts, even demands, particularly without His input, I step out of His will. He wants me to consult Him on everything. And last time I looked, everything means... everything. So before I respond to someone's demand, opinion or thoughts, I need to remember to first consult Him.

The demand of other-mindedness can be so loud and overwhelming and sometimes it can be subtle and sweet - both dangerous to our hearts if we aren't careful. For we are not called to agree with men nor are we called to follow the 'majority'. We aren't called to live by consensus. We are called, as believers in Christ, to live out our own call on our lives. While there are universal principles that all believers must follow, each life, each family, each ministry will look a bit differently because of the manner in which God is leading that person or persons.

If I'm not careful, other-mindedness (caring more about what others think of me, my children, my life, than God) can be a tyrant, ruling my thoughts and then trickling to my decisions in order to not stand out, not 'rock the boat', not hurt someone's feelings. Yet, when God leads, usually all of the above happens. Not out of purposely being rude or mean. Obedience to God calls us to forsake our family, our friends and our very life, if necessary.

The voice of others cannot be more important than the voice of God if you want to live a life of obedience. With each step in following Christ, the sound of others grows quiet and distant, as His voice grows stronger and louder. May I train my ears to only hear His voice amongst the crowd of others so quick to weigh in on me and my life.

Let go and Let God...

It's been awhile since my last post but you can see from it that I love to plan! I love planning events, routines, schedules, shopping trips, vacations, home school schedules... it's endless, really, all the things I can plan!

This week, Good Morning Girls kicked off their summer reading program which gets women all of the world into God's word daily. Next week we also begin reading through the WONDERFUL book, "Ministry of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson. Why do I tell you this? Well, it's not too late to jump in and join us, for starters! There is still room for you so head on over to Good Morning Girls and join an accountability group and meet some wonderful women! I have and am enjoying getting to know these women better as we journey this road together.

My other reason for bringing this up is to share with you what God has shared with me today. With my propensity to plan, it's easy to get ahead of God. It's easy to have my week, month, year all planned out. Logically, I KNOW that my plans won't all come to be, yet, I gain comfort from planning it anyway. Strange, huh? A good clue as to where I place my trust and faith - not His plans but my own. Ugh.

In Matthew 6:33 we read, "and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern." This is a powerful IF/THEN statement that spoke to me this morning. My focus needs to be wholeheartedly, first and foremost, on Him and His ways. Yet, that is difficult when my mind is wandering to next week's dinner with friends or the camping trip in a month or what my kids will learn next school year. While those things aren't "bad" to focus on and plan out, they occupy too much of my focus in the day to day that I run the risk of MISSING today because I'm not HERE!

Now, this seems like such a simple "DUH, Sheri" moment. Perhaps this isn't a struggle for you but, boy, did I need to be reminded of this! My faith and trust shouldn't lie in MY plans but in the One that holds my future. This verse is SO clear - It is day to day that God provides all of my needs WHEN I'm focused on Him and His ways. I mean, The One who created all things and was there in the beginning and knows the end, He, even He, provides not a month's worth of needs, not a week's worth but day to day. If the Creator of the universe can focus on the day to day, surely I can take captive my thoughts and focus and bring them down to TODAY. In doing so, I become a better wife and mom because my focus is on my time with them - today.

It's easy for us to focus on the good part of this verse (He will provide ALL our needs day to day...) yet this verse requires action from us. He promises to take care of ALL of our needs, day to day, IF (yes, this is where you and I come in) I live for Him and make His ways my "primary concern". For me, this action is taking my thoughts and focus captive and behaving in a way that shows my faith and trust in Him - not my plans. For the reality is, I can make all the plans in the world and it gives me warm fuzzies to do so BUT I'm not in charge. I'm not in control of those plans or the REAL plans that He has for me. I need to lessen my faith in my own way and let His way in. "Let go and Let God" as the saying goes. That is what I needed to hear today.

I don't think making plan is 'bad', it is how tightly we grip those plans that is a problem. It is when we put our faith and trust in the plans and not the One who REALLY is in charge.

Let go of whatever you are holding onto today and Let God. Let God move in your life. Let God lay a better plan than you could ever have imagined.

This post is linked up to Women in the Word Wednesdays over at GoodMorningGirls

A Verse That Speaks A Thousand Words...

Hebrews 12:11-13 - No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

This verse came before my eyes this morning. I'm not sure what stood out and spoke to me more but every word contained a message for me. Every word meant something to me, as though it had been written just for me during this week.

To be perfectly honest (and if you can't be honest on a blog, where can you??), this week has been a difficult one. With the weight of the world on my shoulders, I felt so defeated and discouraged this week. These past few months have brought recurring illnesses for me and my family, discouraging words, sad news, criticisms, complaints - large and small, and it felt overwhelming at times.

God can take any situation, though, and turn it into an opportunity to learn and to grow. That is what he has done with me this week. He has shown me areas of my heart that need discipline. Areas that need 'pruning' and areas where I need to let go.

Self-discipline is hard and discipline from God, well, that can be even harder. It is true what the verse says - discipline can be painful! Yet, we know that, if we are open to it, it DOES provide growth and peace. I don't know about you but those are two things I desperately want in my life.