Motivation For Obedience

Ever since I was little I've had a penchant for following the rules and meeting expectations. I'm not a superstar; I just like to know the parameters for any given situation so I can go along. If I'm in charge of some people along the way, so much the better.

Recently I've been pondering the reasons why I obey God. It has to be partially because I'm wired this way. First-born tendencies and all. But there must be more. Much of my life as a Christian I think I've obeyed God in order to protect myself from punishment or negative consequences. I have since discovered that this is neither biblical nor practical. No amount of obedience or hoop-jumping can protect us from life's worst case scenarios. God doesn't operate that way. And while it's true that we can avoid some negative consequences and a healthy dollop of regret by adhering to certain behavioral standards, no amount of Scripture memorization or hours clocked teaching Sunday School is guaranteed to protect me from cancer or an earthquake.

Or someone else's choices.

Often in life we are directly affected by someone else's choices so our behavior only protects us from consequences insofar as we eschew intimate relationships like friendship or marriage. This is also not biblical as our God is deeply committed to relationships.

So if I'm not protecting myself or earning God's love by behaving myself and following all the rules, what's the point?

God Himself is my reward.

When I pursue holiness, boldly facing the ugliest in me and in my circumstances, regardless of how raw they may be, I get God. I hear His voice confirm my identity. I feel His foundational truth seep into the depths of my soul. And I experience peace in His presence, knowing that there are no barriers to our relationship. Everything is out on the table, including my bitterness, my resentment, my unforgiving attitude toward others, and my broken heart and disappointment. And He surrounds me, fills me and leads me into a place of rest for my soul.

It doesn't happen all at once and it's hard work. But faith built over the years reminds me that His unchanging nature and overwhelmingly powerful love for His children will sustain me. His Spirit will intercede for me with words and groans that I can't even express myself. And He will hold me.

New revelation: I obey God because it's the right response. He loves me. Oh, how He loves me. What else can I say? What else can I do but offer this heart, O God, completely to you....

Worship For All Seasons

Which do you think was harder for Noah - being in the ark while the rain fell from the sky and came up from the ground flooding the earth for 40 days, or waiting in that same ark for a year while the sun was shining and the ground was drying? It's a tough call.

Living in the Seattle area, I know what it's like to experience grey skies and precipitation for weeks at a time. No fun. Especially when it's supposed to be feeling like summer and the rest of the country is experiencing weather that's different from what they had in November. Ours is pretty much the same. Waiting in a huge boat for months and months with odiferous creatures and undoubtedly crabby family members probably wasn't much better. But the way I see it, at least they had blue sky to look at.

In our lives, just like in Noah's, waiting and wondering are part of God's action plan. Even though we feel idle, God is moving. With Noah, water levels were receding. Plants were coming back to life. Character was being refined. Relationships built. We're not so different. Grey skies or blue, we get to choose our attitude toward the God who is in the process of sanctifying us. He is the God who has called us out of darkness and into light. (1 Peter 2:9) He makes the skies grey or blue for His glory. And He never changes. So my only response is to worship Him because He is God. Whether I'm waiting or working or whiling away the hours gazing out the window, who God is and what He has done make Him worthy of my worshipful response. What I do is far less important than who He is. And that perspective helps me weather the rain. And the waiting. Because all of my life, in every season, He is still God. And I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QemZQKKJbRU