For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. ~Romans 11:36 (NIV)
Have you ever had a talk with the Lord about something that you were going through or dealing with, and His response was not necessarily what you wanted to hear? Sometimes that is even worse than not hearing anything at all. Obedience isn’t always fun, but that is because we don't always have a righteous perspective. Being obedient and submitting to God's will can cause our flesh to get a little feisty because our flesh truly enjoys expressing itself in ways that are downright unholy. In the book of Leviticus, when God is laying down the law for the Israelites, telling them how to act, what to eat and what not to eat and so forth, He finishes up His discourses with “be holy, for I am holy”. The word holy means to be consecrated, to be separated from “uncleanness” or unclean living. We have to start drawing “lines in the sand” in our minds about what is right and what is wrong in accordance with what has been laid down in the law of God. We need to draw lines between what is clean living and what is unclean living. We need to draw lines between what we need to be doing and what we don’t need to be doing. All of the info we need to draw these lines comes from the word of God and His Spirit reveals it to us in the most timely of manners. When that happens, our heart has got to already be set that no matter what God reveals, we will obey, right then and there in the very moment. Not after we have jumped off the deep end and gave our flesh a tasty meal of ungodliness.
In Romans 11:36 we learn everything is from God, everything is through God, and all things are for God. That includes our very souls. Do you love the Lord enough to let Him have His way with your soul; your mind, your will and your emotions? Do you trust Him enough to allow Him to show you that the things He asks you to do are going to produce the best possible outcome for you and for those you love and even for those you aren’t feeling very lovely about today? In John 8, we read the story about a woman caught in adultery. Believe it or not that is a fantastic story for this day and time because not only is adultery rampant in our society, but our unholy desire to gossip and judge other people who are caught up in it is just as rampant! But what did Jesus say? In John 8:7 we read Jesus’s most amazing response “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (NIV) Just one statement of God’s truth can promote a soul search in a person that will enable them to drop their stones and walk away. One word that defines which side of the line we are going to choose to live on. The holy side or the unholy side. A word that will make us act in a manner that we will feel good about our decision instead of holding on to the wrong agenda. We are called to be the ones who make that statement of truth as the Lord gives it to us. We must know the right word at the right time for every situation to be used by God and that requires obedience. Obedience to God’s mandate in Joshua 1:8 “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth…” (CSB) That obedience is not hard or burdensome when we realize that we get to be used by God to inspire soul searches in people that will set them on the pathway to overcoming the enemy and their flesh and learning to walk in victory one choice at time.
The right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver. ~Proverbs 25:11 (CEV)
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