THOUGHTS FOR CONSIDERATION: Greetings again my friends. Wow an obedient heart. This month we will look at the “Obedient Heart.” Long ago in “Church” services they use to sing a song called “Trust and Obey.” The words went something like this: “Trust and Obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.” I cannot remember the last time I heard that song. Well, maybe it is because very few Christians really trust and obey God. Most Christians lean on their own understanding and seldom acknowledge His way. But, that is not what the Bible tells us to do. In Proverbs Solomon tells us to, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) Notice this action of trust is not taken in our will or our abilities, but in our heart. And it says with “all” of our heart, My friend we cannot “trust in the LORD” with most of our heart and have other things moving in our heart we trust in. Oh no we must, to be able to be used of God we must trust in Him with our whole heart. Next month we will talk about the wholehearted heart and get a great understanding of the complete and sold out heart to God. But trusting here totally in God is no difference. We must be sold out to God with our trust in Him no matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we see others do, no matter what we see the world and even our family do. We must not be moved away from trust. So, the spiritual order in God is faith – trust – rest. We are saved by grace through faith. Did you know God even gives us the faith to be saved? In Romans 12:3 Paul tells us, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) And what is “the measure of faith” used for? Why, to be saved by grace. We trust in the completed work of Christ on the Cross, we believe in the Gospel message: the death, the burial, and the resurrection and we then are joined with Christ as one spirit. Next comes trust. Trust keeps us saved. We trust in God to keep us from the flesh, the world, and the wicked one. We trust in God to provide all that we need to do that and which He wants us to do. After we are saved we move from faith “things unseen” (Hebrews11:1) to things seen. But the movement continues into rest. Rest is the place God desires to bring us all too. Not an eternal rest, well maybe some day, but even then in the sweet by and by we will not be resting. God has plans for us in the next ages to come. I kind of like that knowing we will not be just floating around on some cloud and picking brownies from our brownie bush or drinking from our M&M fountain. Oh no, God has plans for us. But a rest in God that passes all understanding and dimensions of time. A completeness, for this level, in God. Faith – Trust – Rest, the road map back to the heart of God for only His children. In 1 Chronicles 29:18-19, Ezra writes, “O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: 19And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.” (1 Chronicles 29:18-19) we see the obedient heart. Of course Ezra, beings a Jew, was talking to the Jewish people (contexts matters), but I am sure we can glean some truth from his words that we can apply to our heart. Ezra tells the people to, “keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:” Well what were they to keep in their thoughts and prepare their heart for? Verse 19 gives us the answer, “and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.” Or in other words, be obedient to do all of the things I have asked you to do. God gave Solomon (verse 19) a “perfect heart” to keep His commandants and statues as He does us. This speaks of obedience at the heart level where true commitment and dedication resides. Most Christians today are “fair weather” Christians, as long as the winds are blowing in their direction and favourable they look to the LORD, but when the destructive winds of life, which will surely come their way God promises it, they cast off restraint and lean on their own undertraining. Seldom are the ways of an obedient man to God where He would fail them. This is all seen in our heart where our dedication to Him is truly seen by God. Remember our walk with God cannot be greater than our commitment and dedication to Him and Him to us. Do not forget the song. “Trust and Obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.”
Next month we will continue looking at the perfect heart of the “Prophet of God” who must also have a wholehearted heart. I hope this is you my friend. Are you a Prophet of God? To be a Prophet we must be able to hear His voice. Listen closely and you will hear. Written by David Stahl
