O Righteous Lord, You stressed the importance of obeying You when You said “Obey me and I will be Your God. Walk in the ways I command you, that it might go well with you.” You do not respond to the pleas of those who stubbornly insist on doing things their way or becoming hard-hearted in the face of afflictions they are experiencing. When I am religious without a personal commitment to You, I cannot have a meaningful relationship with You. Attending church, taking communion, going to bible studies, or singing in the choir are all empty exercises unless they are being done for You. If I come to church to worship You, but do not take You with me the rest of the week, what good have I done for myself? Is the image of attending church and belonging to a group more important than exposing my life to You for change? My loyalty to You and faithfulness to doing Your will confirms the reality of my walk.
As a follower, the question I must ask myself is “who gets hurt the most when I turn away from You?” The answer is obvious … me. Separating myself from You is like pulling a plant out of the ground and expecting it will grow and flourish. You are the only one from whom I can draw spiritual strength. Cut off from You, I am cut off from life itself. You have called me to a life of obedience and conformity to Your will. This sometimes involves making sacrifices and undergoing circumstances which cause me to see my sins and re-focus my life on living for You. Too often I endure the circumstances while forgetting the reason why I am encountering them. To put forth a pious front without a willingness to obey You in all things is meaningless. No matter how bad things become, I must remember that You are faithful to me when I am faithful to You.
One of the hardest tasks I face is conforming my will to Yours. The reason is because I think my way is better because it accomplishes what I want. Conforming requires much trust and acknowledging that Your way is the better one. Your goal is for me to become more like You. In becoming more like You I am finding my true self … the person You created me to be. How do I go about being transformed? I find it happening as I read Your Word and meditate on it … by earnestly studying the Gospels to grasp the things You count as important … by being filled with the Holy Spirit who reveals more about You … and doing what I am asked to do. You caution me in Your Word to no longer be conformed to the world because it is selfish and corrupting. Only when I allow the Holy Spirit to reeducate and redirect my thinking can I become more like You. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is God’s will.