Tricky, Tricky, Tricky...
As the year ended, I noticed a rising amount of frustration within me. At first, I couldn’t understand why. Many things in my world were going well, and yet I found myself a little impatient and snappy. Ever been there?Shortly thereafter, I began the book of Judges in my priority time. Here, the Children of Israel in their respective tribes were each going into the territories God had given them. Of important note is that they didn’t simply show up with their moving trucks and unpack. Yes, God had given them favor to defeat those occupying their land… but they still had to engage in the battle in order to have victory and displace the wrongful occupiers in order to become the rightful occupiers.Several times in Judges 1, it was very clearly stated that the Lord was with them. And yet tribe after tribe seemed to fall short of their ultimate instructions. Instead of being removed, these enemies remained and frequently became forced labor.This sent my mind swirling. If God’s with you, doesn’t that ensure victory? Is it better to run your enemy off or require them into forced labor? Neither seems like a good, loving option!As I wrestled with how this applied to me and how this fits into my understanding of the Lord, two strong reminders came to me:
1. Because the Lord is with you, that doesn’t let you off the hook!The truth is that God’s at work in us. He absolutely can defeat our foes without our input, but He frequently requires us to have some skin in the game. The Lord being with us is a powerful thing, but He still requires us to obey.
[bctt tweet="The Lord being with us is a powerful thing, but He still requires us to obey."]
If there’s an issue in your world that continues to create unwelcome pressure, stop and ask the Lord what He’s requiring of you. Most of us won’t have to uproot a physical enemy in 2017… but perhaps, instead of being honest in an area of conflict, you're refusing to address a concern. Some of the pressure I’ve been feeling is because I’ve tiptoed around an area of conflict. I’ll say 90% of what needs to be said, but then not put my last 10% out there to completely resolve the issue. The result? I’ve created my own version of forced labor. Instead of speaking the truth in love and getting the whole issue out on the table, my compromise has now put both me and the other party in a difficult spot.
2. Full obedience is necessary even when we don’t understand why.I imagine some of the Israelites thought they were being more merciful than God to not follow through completely with God’s instructions. Yet it soon becomes apparent that this partial obedience would create chaos in their culture as forced labor and intermarrying of different faiths wreaks havoc for generations. This one compromise ends up leading to hundreds of compromises.
I challenge you to identify where in your life you’re stopping short of complete obedience.
• Did the Lord caution you to stop spending time with someone who’s a negative influence, and you settled for less time instead of no time?
• Did God instruct you to give someone something, and you gave… but you gave less than instructed?
• Have you sensed conviction that you’re dabbling in something that could harm your relationships, but you’ve talked yourself out of the concern?
Even in the small or seemingly gray areas, would you commit to full obedience? Please don’t be so arrogant to assume this one compromise won’t have any negative effects.
Mercifully, God gives us warnings. Which one do you need to heed today?Graciously, God goes before us… but He requires our participation. Where do you need to be all in?[bctt tweet="Just one compromise often ends up leading to hundreds of compromises."]