Man always tries to justify all he has to do..
You will never see a human being doing something without a reason. He drinks because he is thirsty, he eats because he is hungry or a glutton.. he cries because he is sad or touched by a certain subject… etc.
Everybody set up plans and goals that they strive to realize. They only move according to those plans and goals, pursuing them, and they spend their time, money and other necessities to succeed in them..
As believers, the same happens in our relationship with the Lord..
And we often tend to question everything we do:
Why do I always need to pray?
Why do I have to take part in all church activities and conferences?
Why do I have to tithe?
Why do I have to read the word of God daily?
Why do I have to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Why? And why?
I cannot say that realizing and understanding the meaning of all we have to do is not a good thing.. because the Lord doesn’t want us to follow Him without understanding, He wants us to be convinced and to understand what we are doing..
But!!!
According to our human nature, to everyone’s experience and statistical studies, it is found that the majority relies on their feelings and thoughts to lead their relationship with the Lord and what they are doing.
And this is a very dangerous thing to do!!!
In general, we only pray if we have a persistent need or if we are going through a certain difficulty..
We irregularly attend church meetings, especially those during the week; we only attend them if we feel like it or if we are going through favorable circumstances..
We only praise the Lord if our feelings are revived.. or if we are happy because a promise from the Lord’s promises to us was fulfilled..
We only read the word of God and have an intimate time with the Lord when needed, which is irregular, and even seasonal for some…
From this, it is clear that our thoughts and feelings are in control of our walk with the Lord and our relationship with Him.. and often it is the essential reason that motivates us to walk with the Lord and leads our relationship with Him, or makes us do certain things..
Also, because we are human and live in a world controlled by evil, and because we are exposed to several attacks and oppressions from the devil, especially on our minds and feelings, which will often be oppressed by tiredness, laziness, depression and moodiness… we will be forced to find suitable excuses to run away from doing all that we mentioned, or in best cases to do those things in an intermittent, and non stable way..
As previously mentioned, we, as humans, tend to find a specific and clear reason to do a certain thing or things, and to be protected from a certain hesitation in our relationship with the Lord and our walk with Him. We need to have a fixed and clear reason as unique motivation for us to walk in the right way with the Lord…
Moreover, what the Holy Spirit pushed me to say today, is simply that we should not at all do God’s things according to what our thoughts and feelings lead us to, rather according to what the word of God leads us to in obedience to the Lord only..
And this is the principal reason that every real believer has to put in front of him continuously, and it should be for him the principal motivation for his relationship with the Lord and to do things for God:
Obedience to the Lord and His word only..
For whatever were the circumstances that we are going through, and whatever were our feelings and thoughts, we should:
Pray continuously without ceasing
Always praise the Lord
Meditate in the word of the Lord always, and study it carefully
Regularly attend church meetings and activities
Help the needy and poor and visit them
Help my brothers and carry their burden
Honor the Lord with our money and time… and…
In obedience to the word of the Lord only
Beloved: were the feelings and thoughts of Paul and Silas what pushed them to praise the Lord in the prison in Philippi?
Of course not..
For they have been severely beaten and their feet were in chains, and as I think under such oppressing circumstances, praising the Lord was the last thing on their mind according to their feelings..
But they obeyed the Lord and His word and praised Him with a loud voice as the word says.. and the result was that an earthquake hit the prison and broke everyone’s chains, and lead the guardian of the prison in Philippi and his family to receive the Lord’s salvation..
And were Abraham’s feelings what motivated him to offer his only beloved son Isaac?
No and thousand times no.. but in obedience to the word of the Lord only..
And the result was that the Lord said to him: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son– blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
(Genesis 22:16-18).
And also:
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8).
He didn’t have a reason to leave his land, tribe, place of rest and security, not even knowing where he was going, and what was waiting for him there.. other than his obedience to the Lord.
Beloved: some believers move according to their feelings to the point that in the absence of those feelings they will do nothing of what the Lord commanded them to, for they praise the Lord if they feel that way, give their offerings if they feel that way, fulfill their promises if they want to, and if they do not feel a desire they do nothing..
However, David the great psalm writer and singer said:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
(Psalm 103:1-5).
David commanded his soul to praise the Lord, and to list all His benefits..
And we all know the difficult circumstances and the great dangers that he endured.. and despite all this, and despite his feelings, he obeyed the Lord and His word and praised Him in the midst of all those difficulties, and the result was his success and victory over all his enemies!!!
Beloved: assuredly the devil will be able, when we allow our feelings and thoughts to be the reason for our walk with the Lord and doing God’s things, to make us lukewarm, hesitating, in most cases not willing to walk in God’s plan for our life, but on the contrary, when we don’t walk according to our negative feelings and thoughts, we decide to do all that the word of God commands us to, in obedience to God only, we will be standing on a solid, strong and unchanging base that the enemy cannot shake..
And if we want to state our meditation in a practical way, we could say:
I pray because the word of the Lord says:
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
“I give myself to prayer.” (Psalm 109:4).
I regularly attend church meetings because the word of God says:
“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
(Hebrews 10:25).
I daily meditate in the word of the Lord, because His word says:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3).
I offer my tithes to the Lord because His word says:
“ ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:10-11).
“Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10).
I help my brothers and I care for the needy because His word says:
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).
“for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” (Matthew 25:35-36).
In obedience to the Lord and His word I do all those things, and those beloved are solid bases, that are not shaken under the pressure of the wind, the waves, the circumstances, the wars, the feelings and thoughts changes..
And such reasons, motives, faith and obedience will make me grow from glory to glory and from strength to strength and from faith to faith, and I will be according to the Lord’s heart, walking in the Lord’s perfect, pleasing and righteous plan for my life; I will live a victorious life, enjoying all that the Lord has prepared for me in every area, and I will be continuously fruitful.
