I was a rebellious young adult. I was absolutely convinced that I knew better than most people, and the Bible, what was good for my life. If you have read my previous posts you know that this was certainly not true for me. I am sure that some of you can sympathize.
I wonder how often, as Christians, we are like the newly minted 18-year-old "adult" that believes that they know better than everyone. How often do you think that you "know better" than God?
Now it may not sound like that when you say it, but just think about the last time you balked at a commandment, or refused to obey God out of fear? I have always been particularly fond of the Psalms and David writes in Psalm 119:43-48:
"Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them. I life my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees" (NIV).
Now I don't know about you but I always wondered if David was a little nuts here. I mean how often do you delight in being commanded to do something? If you are like me, not very often. But I have recently come to a different place. I grew up. I finally realized that God was right all along. God doesn't give us commands to ruin our fun! He doesn't decree things to bring us down or to keep us from achieving our dreams. God has BETTER dreams for us! He gives us commands to save us from ourselves. We cannot guide our own lives. We will shipwreck and we will fail. God knows this, so he gives us commands in an attempt to enable us to live better lives.
As David mentions he "will walk about in freedom" because of God's commands. I liken this to financial security. When you know you have the money to pay your bills you rest a little easier at night. However, realizing that financial security is fleeting it is BETTER to rest easy because you know that God has your back.
As I look back on my mistakes I take more and more delight in God's commands. When people tell me that "God knows best" my immediate response is "THANK GOODNESS! Because I sure-as-all-get-out don't know what is best! If it were up to me I would screw it up." I think it's important for Christians to realize that this is still true. Without God's help you would still be screwing it up. If you don't follow his commands you will still screw it up. Salvation doesn't erase this! But knowing that God has your back and his commands are there purely to help you from messing up it should be encouraging to you. It should spur you to obey. It's easier to obey a command when you know it'll bring you good things. Even when things don't work out like you think, God still knows what he is doing. Do you trust it? Do you KNOW? Do you act on this knowledge? If you don't, it's not too late. God is waiting for you. Have faith, believe and know that God is on your side, every time, looking out for your best interest. He will never let you down if you let him direct your paths.
I wonder how often, as Christians, we are like the newly minted 18-year-old "adult" that believes that they know better than everyone. How often do you think that you "know better" than God?
Now it may not sound like that when you say it, but just think about the last time you balked at a commandment, or refused to obey God out of fear? I have always been particularly fond of the Psalms and David writes in Psalm 119:43-48:
"Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them. I life my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees" (NIV).
Now I don't know about you but I always wondered if David was a little nuts here. I mean how often do you delight in being commanded to do something? If you are like me, not very often. But I have recently come to a different place. I grew up. I finally realized that God was right all along. God doesn't give us commands to ruin our fun! He doesn't decree things to bring us down or to keep us from achieving our dreams. God has BETTER dreams for us! He gives us commands to save us from ourselves. We cannot guide our own lives. We will shipwreck and we will fail. God knows this, so he gives us commands in an attempt to enable us to live better lives.
As David mentions he "will walk about in freedom" because of God's commands. I liken this to financial security. When you know you have the money to pay your bills you rest a little easier at night. However, realizing that financial security is fleeting it is BETTER to rest easy because you know that God has your back.
As I look back on my mistakes I take more and more delight in God's commands. When people tell me that "God knows best" my immediate response is "THANK GOODNESS! Because I sure-as-all-get-out don't know what is best! If it were up to me I would screw it up." I think it's important for Christians to realize that this is still true. Without God's help you would still be screwing it up. If you don't follow his commands you will still screw it up. Salvation doesn't erase this! But knowing that God has your back and his commands are there purely to help you from messing up it should be encouraging to you. It should spur you to obey. It's easier to obey a command when you know it'll bring you good things. Even when things don't work out like you think, God still knows what he is doing. Do you trust it? Do you KNOW? Do you act on this knowledge? If you don't, it's not too late. God is waiting for you. Have faith, believe and know that God is on your side, every time, looking out for your best interest. He will never let you down if you let him direct your paths.
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