“This is not a request, it’s a directive.” I said that to my children occasionally when they failed to follow directions. When they were teens, sometimes they developed an acute case of independence and decided that Dad did not really understand their situation and therefore, his words could be ignored; often by feigned misunderstanding rather than blatant refusal. So, just to make it clear that I expected compliance, I reminded them that I was not simply offering advice. They were, just for the record, great kids and now more than a decade removed from that era, I still remember those days with joy!
As children of the Heavenly Father, we are tempted to re-interpret His commands as advice that we can follow or ignore as we wish. When the Tempter shows up, one of his tricks of deception is to convince us that the Lord just doesn’t understand our unique situation. A strange kind of logic overtakes us in which we reason that while the choice we are about to make is wrong for others, we are exempt. We create and choose to live in the lie that “God will understand and approve my choice, because He knows my special circumstances.” This broken line of thinking is one I have heard as a Pastor too many times to count from people who refused to forgive and fell into terrible bitterness, from those who choose not to honor God with giving of their resources, from wives who will not respect their husbands, from men who went ahead and got involved in illicit affairs, from teens who are choosing to be sexually active outside of marriage, and more!
Those who are choosing self-will often offer this rationalization: “God knows my heart.” True enough. God does understand our situation, our psychology, our temptations, and even the ways in which we think even better than we do! The Scripture says, "God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what." (Hebrews 4:12-13, The Message) Does that sound harsh? Does it make you tremble?
Then, read on into the blessed promise of the subsequent part of that passage. "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NIV)
The Lord does not just hand down His edict and demand obedience, leaving us to struggle through the issues of compliance by ourselves! He really does understand in a priestly way and invites us to let Him be our Helper! The paradox of spiritual victory is that it is found in admission of weakness. When we find ourselves beaten up by our desires, enticed by temptation, longing to disobey – the worst response is to pretend we are doing fine, or that the situation is not critical, or to deny that we really do want to follow our own desire. Instead, we fall down before Him and cry out, “Father, I want to follow my heart, take my own path. It is the appealing choice. Help me to stand. Clear my vision.” And, He does not reject us in our confession! Instead, the Bible says, "God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it." (1 Corinthians 10:13, The Message)
Are you pulled between obedience and expedience today, disciple?
Are you facing a situation where God’s way and your desire are on a collision course?
Remember, His Word is not just good advice; it’s His directive. When we align ourselves to His will, we find life. Here’s a word from the Word. May we find warning and encouragement in the Truth for today.
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
(Jeremiah 17:9-10, NLT)
So, "we worship at your throne— eternal, high, and glorious!
O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water." (Jeremiah 17:12-13, NLT)
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