Tag Archives: obey

Don’t get Disqualified

Don’t get Disqualified

“Disobedience may eliminate opportunities for service by disqualifying one from a position of leadership.” (Ryrie study Bible)

1 Samuel 13:13-14
Samuel said to Saul, “ You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Saul undoubtedly felt the pressure of the battle. The enemy’s army was HUGE. Can you imagine the stress…trying to hold it all together as the leader of an army that is outnumbered. He became impatient and he took matters into his own hands, which wasn’t what God had instructed.
This act of disobedience would change his life. “Would have” is a key phrase here… if you Would Have been obedient, the Lord Would Have established your Kingdom over Israel forever.
Disobedience is no joke. It’s not something we can pick and choose depending on the situation. It’s sometimes very difficult in the face of pressing circumstances to trust God and His timing. But we can never do in our own strength what we can do in God’s strength. We can never accomplish in our own timing what God can accomplish in His.
Your situation may be pressing today, but remember that it doesn’t change what God has already spoken to you. His instructions and commands are to be followed. Don’t freak out and think you’ve been abandoned. Don’t think you’re gonna have to take the reins. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to trust God in the waiting. Immediately after Saul just “did it himself”, Samuel showed up…
I encourage you (and myself) to place obedience to God as the first priority!

You can’t prove that you trust the Lord without an opportunity to trust Him.

This is your opportunity! What are you going to do?

Get the “Would Haves” out of the way today. I Would Have, but ______________.
Whatever filled that blank… surrender it to God today and Trust Him with it completely.

Wild or Free

Psalm 32:8,9

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

 

 

Have you ever seen a wild horse being broken by a trainer? It’s quite a show. This horse that is used to doing what it wants is now under the control of someone else. Of course this doesn’t come naturally for the animal and it sure isn’t use to hearing commands, nor does it understand them. So the process begins as the handler places a bridle on the horse along with a bit in its mouth, all connected to a rope which is held by the man. The trainer will stand in the center of the ring and allows the horse to go in circles as he holds the rope. The horse can pull away or try to run off, but it’s painful when it does. He eventually learns that the sooner he obeys, the sooner he is free of the bit! He’s only causing himself pain.

 

Many years ago a good friend had a vision of my life. She pictured the Lord in the center of a ring and I was the horse, trying to painfully pull away. She told me I wasn’t getting out of the Lord’s plan for my life, and I was only going to hurt myself if I tried to run.

 

Isn’t this a picture of many lives today? We desire freedom. We all want liberty but we often misunderstand what truly brings it into our lives. It comes through obedience to Christ. He doesn’t give up on us. He has a will for our lives and desires for us to be free and fulfilling our destinies. He also knows this doesn’t happen overnight for the person who is so accustomed to having his own way. Many times we experience the discomfort of disobedience and God definitely allows it. But what he intends for us to learn is that he’s not trying to hurt us, but he’s trying to break us so that we can be used!

 

God wants to get us to the place where we stop when he says “whoa”, and we go when he says, “giddy up”. The place of true obedience. Although we are constantly learning and increasing in knowledge and understanding, we aren’t meant to be in basic training forever. The truth is, we can decide when we’re going to finally submit. It’s only then that God can use us to the fullest in true freedom! So if you’re still a wild one and you’re experiencing the pain of disobedience, know that the Lord uses broken people. Wild and Free have been used together for too long. We have to choose… Choose freedom and experience the wild ride the trainer has for your life.