Tag: obedience

Preserve Your Relationship With God

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I think the verses speak for themselves.

Avoid what keeps you away from Him and part of that means that a Christian must not instigate or engage in these things. Behaving this way costs you your relationship with God; this is not His way.

We are called to be imitators of Christ, to be peace makers, to love one another (friends, foes, and everyone in-between). Being Christian is not about getting one’s points across, about being right (and everybody else’s wrong), or about “who’s best”. It is about following Christ, walking in his footsteps, and serving God – as he did.

Preserve your relationship with God at all cost. Let nothing and no one stand in the way of Him and you.

Walk of Obedience

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Walking with God is a narrow path because few do it. It is full of bumps, of cliffs, of brooks of various depth and width, of missing ground (where you have to leap to get to the other side), of blisters to your feet, of sunburn and bugs bites, of countless tiring efforts, and of pain at times. However, I would not go back to walking the other way, in the larger path, for walking with God is the most amazing thing I have experienced.

I am always amazed to behold His work in every detail and every circumstance He puts me in. As I told a friend,

I don’t force faith, it is something I have because God is a living presence in my life.

I am not here to tell you what to do or what to believe in, I can only bear witness to what God does in my life and tell you why I choose to walk in obedience to Him.

  • Time and time again, He puts me in a situation where I have no other choice but to rely on Him… Regardless of what I think, of what I feel, of what I wish, I say yes to Him.
  • Through this walk of obedience, He teaches me (through comparison, through experience, through observation) and I love learning… I have a thirst for knowledge, I like understanding the “what”, the “why” and the “how” of things so I can be further amazed by His work.
  • Walking in obedience leads you to the truth (about yourself and others) if you have the humility to listen to the Holy Spirit.

Often, He has me doing things I would not do on my own (because the flesh says it doesn’t feel like it or it is afraid), and yet I choose to do them because it helps somebody, because doing so brings me closer to God, because I learn through it, because partaking in His work as His instrument is a great honour, because watching Him in the midst of it is something I will not ever get tired of.

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Make no mistake, choosing obedience requires faith, but I put my trust in God. He is Almighty, that’s all I really need to know.

 

To Those Who Suffer

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Nobody knows suffering as much as Jesus does. He endured it all (emotional, psychological, and physical). He was sought after everywhere he went, either by crowds drawn to him or by Pharisees and the likes who wanted to discredit him and ultimately get rid of him. He had a few friends, followers, yet his people rejected him as a prophet, as the Son of God.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

ISAIAH CHAPTER 53 KJV

Jesus, being everything God loves, was nothing to men, insignificant, disregarded. The only men who saw him for who he really was were those who were chosen by God. Jesus was a man of sorrows, familiar with grief; he knew sadness inside out.

Is our walk with God very different from that of Jesus?

Jesus is holy and sanctification is every Christian’s calling. Can we be saints and live a very different life from that of Jesus? That would be very illogical.

Just as it happened with Jesus, nobody will recognize God in us unless God wants them to see Him. The truth we tell will be perceived as lies, our kindness will be perceived as weakness, and our guileless intents will be perceived as wicked. The light of God shines through us, but can a blind man see the light? We are all blind without the Spirit of Truth.

The suffering in our lives has a purpose. It brings us to God, on our knees. Many go to Him for relief and find it. Suffering and understanding give us compassion for others. When we walk in obedience to God, He will protect us from pain because His presence is more powerful than man-inflicted pain. His love is so overwhelming it will be the only thing we feel.

Our perceptions and understanding change in God’s presence; His love is revealed to us and through us, and prior suffering fades away. Love heals, love gives life, and love stands in truth.

Paul says about suffering that if we take part in his suffering, we also take part in his consolation. I for one believe with all my heart that my own suffering is worth it if it opens a door to God revealing Himself to someone who needs Him.

I am just a vessel, but I find honour in Him using me to reveal His glory. There is nothing grander than to be in the presence of God Almighty. My consolation for suffering? Seeing the kingdom of God, his reign, feeling His love and presence, and contemplating His glory. This is enough to have me rejoice, to praise his name, to put a smile on my face and to be awed at God’s Almightiness.