Got excuses?

READ: Esther 4:12-17

Ever felt God calling you to do something? Ever responded with excuses?

If so, you’re like many heroes and heroines of the Bible. For example, Esther. 

Excuse #1 - God’s will is done whether I participate in it or not.

Somewhat true. In Esther’s case, God would save the Jews one way or the other, and Mordecai tells her so. However, as we read in Ephesians 2:10, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The call of God is the revelation of that work designed uniquely for you, and when you refuse it, the consequences can be both real and painful. For Esther, Mordecai predicted death. For you, it may be that the hungry go unfed, the lonely fall into depression, or your children grow up not knowing the Lord.

Excuse #2 - I do not have the skills to do what God calls me to do.

Moses was slow of speech and tongue; he felt inadequate to serve as God’s mouthpiece to Israel. The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:11-12)

Esther understood the power of God and turned to him in fasting and prayer. “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14)

Excuse #3 - What God calls me to do is against the rules.

Esther was forbidden from entering the king’s presence unsummoned at penalty of death. In today’s world, many nations forbid proselytizing. Many bosses demand you keep your religion to yourself. Many social circles shun those who profess Biblical truth. Yet as Peter and the other apostles exclaim in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than human beings!”

Excuse #4 - What if I obey God and fail?

As Esther says, “If I perish, I perish.” On the cross, Jesus perished, and yet his attitude was this: “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:7) His perishing was obedience; his obedience, love; his love, God’s glory and our salvation. Take up your cross and follow him.

The Apostles persevere

22  March                                   

Read Acts 5:17-29 and reflect on the passage.

I love when an angel appears in the Bible. It means things are going to get interesting. In this particular instance, the angel “rescues” the apostles from jail and basically tells them to go right back out and try to get arrested again. Why would they do that?! Why would they obey?

Well, because they’ve learned that God’s gonna do what God’s gonna do. When He puts a plan in motion it’s hard—impossible—to stop. Oh, but we try.

It seems I’m always trying to mess with His plans for me, but I’m starting to realize He will ultimately prevail and it’s in my best interest to listen and obey like the apostles. Apparently, I have something to learn from the infamous words of Nike and Larry the Cable Guy…I need to “just do it” and “git-r-done.” Sure it can be scary and I may have to take what I perceive as risks, but when God’s goals become my goals then I begin to fulfill the purpose He has intended for me.

Questions

1. When have you heard God calling, but didn’t want to listen?

2. How would things change if you obeyed from the start?

Prayer

Lord, help me set aside my plans when they don’t align with Yours. Give me the courage to do Your will regardless of my fears.

—Jennifer Jerrome

The commanding officer of my soul

“Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name’ he said.... Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men!’” Acts 5:28-29

(To see today's entire text – Acts 5:27-32 – click here.)

Stop and think ... when is the last time you heard the word, “obey,” in conversation?

“Obey” is a tough notion for us, a concept progressively out of favor. Offensive ... humiliating ... oppressive ... that’s how our world sees it. Passé, really. Irrelevant. Ludicrous! For “obey” suggests that at least some aspect of our being is subject to the will of someone else; it leaves us something short of “I am the master of my fate...”¹  And ... we ... don't ... like it!

Instead, our human nature is a place where “I am the captain of my soul,”¹ and where “Feeling” ranks as first lieutenant. We rely on its counsel above all others, even when Feeling is openly insubordinate to our commanding officer, Truth.

There’s an interesting example in Mark 1:40-45. One day, Jesus cured a man from leprosy and then, curiously, “sent him away with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone.’” Instead, the man – understandably excited – “went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news.” Jesus had said “don't tell,” but this man told, his feelings dissuading him from the command of the One who had authority even over leprosy! And we might feel our way along to the leper’s justification! After all, spreading the news is a good thing, isn’t it? But there were lasting consequences to his disobedience that day: “As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.”

Peter and the apostles were also under orders, two sets of them, actually. Jesus had told them to go out and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them all he had commanded. The religious leader’s imperative, however, was the opposite, charging them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (see Acts 4:18). And now the apostles stood before the high priest and the Sanhedrin because they had obeyed the higher authority – the commanding officer – on the matter. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name...” the rulers complained. The apostles’ response? “We must obey God rather than men!” And their obedience had produced results, for the Sanhedrin even told them, “... you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching ...” (Not bad!)

Both the leper in the first instance and the apostles in the second were under commands from Jesus. And being human, they all had strong feelings ... they were all enthusiastic. The difference was that the apostles, at least in this case, obeyed, aligning their will and their passion under the authority of Jesus, who is Truth.

Likely, we’ve all experienced both scenarios, frustrated at times and buoyed at others. So how do we consistently subject our feelings to God's truth and his authority? We stay close to him, talking with him in prayer and listening to him through his word. Then when we recognize that familiar voice of Christ in us, ours is simply to say, "yes." Day by day; moment by moment.

For as Peter told the Sanhedrin, God gives his Holy Spirit to those who obey him. And that includes us.

¹ From "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley