Day 74: Compliance Is Easier In Relationship:
"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you." —Psalm 51:12
I can completely agree with the first half of this Psalm; "restore to me the joy of your salvation." The second half I think naturally comes with the joy. For me, and likely for others, being willing to obey is not the problem so much as seeing it through. I am willing, but I still fall short. This is where Anderson says that God comes in. Our will "alone [is] not enough to make [us] obey." We need God's help. It's hard to even ask for God's help if we do not have a relationship with Him. Anderson states that we are more likely to be obedient "when we are in a relationship with the one requesting our compliance." I can definitely see the truth of that. Our initial response to demands from someone we hardly know is often, "wait a minute....who are you to ask ____?" Even if we comply, we may only do so to be polite or to avoid conflict. It's done begrudgingly; not exactly the spirit God is wanting from us. Even at times when my husband has asked me to do something, if we have not been close or I feel he has been distracted when I wanted his attention, I am not exactly joyful about complying. It may only be a momentary irritation, but it's still there and it's not a godly response.
Anderson's point is, if we want to be obedient to God and be joyful about it, then we need to build our relationship with Him. "When we are connected in relationship with our heavenly Father, it is easier to obey him and to follow his decrees. ...All he asks us to do is love him and then love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. When we comply, there is great joy for both of us."
Sounds easy enough... Right?
No comments:
Post a Comment