When we push to gain an answer to our prayers or to have something we feel we need, there is always a feeling of uneasiness within us. It should never be hard to trust the Lord because His love for us is so great. However, unless we know for sure that we are walking in step with Him, we will constantly think, Lord, am I doing the right thing?
Did I make the right decision? God wants and even listens expectantly for us to pray asking Him to draw us close to His heart.
Why Elijah Ran
God hears our prayers. He knows all about the silent cries of our hearts, but He also knows our joys. We can trust Him fully because He knows all about us and loves us unconditionally. When it comes to trusting God unconditionally, there are several people in the Bible whom we could list as examples — Moses, David, Joseph, Isaiah, Jeremiah, all of the minor prophets, and many in the New Testament.
While there were times when they demonstrated great faith, there were also moments when their faith and trust in God waned. Moses became angry with the people and hit the rock with his staff to bring forth water for them to drink. The prophet Elijah stood on Mount Carmel and defeated every one of the prophets of Baal.
Yet hours later he was on the run in fear of losing his life at the hands of a wicked queen. When does strong faith — immovable faith — turn into fear? The answer is easy: There was no reason for Elijah to become besieged with fear.
- Lesson Two: Trust in God’s Faithfulness | theranchhands.com.
- Hymn Story, Trust and Obey!
- Einführung in die Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie (German Edition).
- Black Beetles in Amber!
- The Forsaken Repose Compendium?
- Estaba escrito (Jazmín) (Spanish Edition).
God had gained a great victory, and His prophet was at the hub of the activity. However, this did not stop the enemy from harassing him with thoughts of death and fear. Instead of going out to meet Jezebel, he headed off in the opposite direction and ended up hiding out in a cave explaining to God how he arrived at this distressing point. I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Call on the name of your god… Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened. There was no answer from Baal because there is only one God and that is the Living God, the God of the Bible, the God who loves us and has saved us with His mighty outstretched hand. I love what God said to Elijah as he was hiding in the cave. Jacob had certainly learned and matured and grown in his faith and obedience as a result of the 20 years of discipline which climaxed in the wrestling match compare Jacob's prayers in But all this was no guarantee that he would never fail in faith again, and that's exactly what we see in Genesis We too may pass some long tough courses in God's school of discipline.
We may even experience some traumatic wrestling matches with our God. He breaks us of self in order to bless us. As a result we may make great strides forward in trust and obedience--but this does not mean we are fail-safe. Have you ever failed the Lord in the very area you thought you had just conquered and given to Him?
Let us see how Jacob failed to fully trust and obey the Lord in Genesis After his reconciliation with Esau, who had traveled some distance to meet him, Jacob did not continue on his way back to Bethel in full obedience to the Lord's command. Instead he went in a different direction and settled in Succoth There was no need to continue to fear Esau.
But Jacob once again turned aside from the path of trust and obedience. He apparently decided to stay away from Bethel indefinitely since he built a house and barns in Succoth As a result, Jacob experienced more years of unhappiness and loss of blessing. Living in Succoth brought many associated problems.
Not too far away was the pagan city of Shechem. It was "natural" for Jacob to spend some time there with his family for "business purposes". Perhaps he erected the altar nearby to "justify" his relationship with this pagan city But believers cannot play around with token trust and obedience and expect to go unscathed. Genesis 34 records the tragedy that took place in Jacob's family as a result of his not going back to Bethel. Jacob's daughter was abducted and raped, and his sons Levi and Simeon became liars and murderers.
What a lesson for us! There is always bad fall-out when faith and obedience come short.
And it affects others besides ourselves! God has given us many precepts and principles to guide our lives as growing Christians. His Word covers everything--control of thoughts, relation to parents, guidance in vocation, sex life, role of men and women, borrowing money, forgiving others, you name it. God does not expect us to question or change or compromise His commands--He expects us to simply trust Him and obey Him.
We have also witnessed that God is faithful to his word in the lives of his people. If we are to see clearly through our present darkness, we must understand these truths so that we depend upon them when all seems unclear. Being married to a corporate executive had all the perks of living a good life — country club living, tennis, fancy cars and a large beautiful home. Then the unexpected day arrived when the company my husband worked for was sold and he lost his job.
We were momentarily stunned, but not concerned. After all, there were many other corporations out there. Months went by without any new prospects for work. There were younger corporate executives in the marketplace working for less pay. The savings dwindled, the bills piled up. We prayed, we went to church, we continued serving and trusting God, yet many more months went by without income. On the outside, we looked like we had it all together; but on the inside, we were crying. And, of course, pride was in the way of letting others know how bad things were.
Finally, on a particular Sunday morning, we were getting ready for church when my husband called from the shower for a bar of soap. When I replied that we were out, it was the last straw. We fell apart and acknowledged that we were in serious trouble and would have to change our lifestyle.
We left for church that morning in total despair, questioning the provision and faithfulness of God. Behold, I will do something new.
Trust and Obey | Growing Christians Ministries
Now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. My husband and I listened to this message with tears running down our faces. We felt God was telling us to forget our old lifestyle, to be willing to accept a new way of life; and as we let go, he would provide in this wilderness time of our lives.
When we arrived home, there was a promotional package in a plastic bag hanging from the front door knob. Inside the bag was a bar of soap — the name of it was Spirit, and it was blue! How unusual for a promotional package to be delivered on a Sunday, but God used the timing and the product to, not only put a little humor in our situation, but to prove his faithfulness in even the little things.
That date in August of was a turning point in our lives.
Trust and Obey
God had something totally different in mind for us. Our financial circumstances did not improve, but our faith did. God has been faithful to provide for our needs moment by moment as we live by faith trusting Him. To God be the glory! Sometimes it is helpful for us as mothers to see that God disciplines his disobedient children so that we will not be afraid to discipline our children.
When the children of Israel flatly refused to enter the land that he had promised them, God punished them. They were unable to receive the gift. Instead, they were nomads for the remainder of their lives, never able to rest in their own land. When your children adamantly refuse to obey you, you must deal with them because of their attitudes. The size or significance of what you requested of them is not the issue.
It is an issue of rebellion in the heart.
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- Trust God and Obey Him - FaithGateway.
- Les enfants du Nouveau Monde (Historique t. 1089) (French Edition).
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- Karpol: Lunatics - Thats What I Need.
- IL PIACERE DEL SESSO - racconti erotici (Italian Edition).
- The Lost City 17 (Thai Version)!
As adults, we are called to submit to God himself. It takes an obedient, willing heart to do so. We must teach our children to obey when they are young so that they are prepared to submit to God when they are older. As a child I did not like to obey my mother. I had a rebellious heart.
Because she did punish me in an effort to teach me obedience, I learned that obedience is a better choice. Just as I paid the price for rebellion, it is also risky to disobey God because he will discipline when necessary. Ask God for the wisdom to consistently discipline your children and teach them obedience. Pray specifically for each of your children.