All or Nothing II

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Today's Passage:1Samuel 15 
Memory Verse: 1 Sam. 15:22-23

I always find it interesting that many believers really mean it when they say that they love God and want to serve Him wholeheartedly.  Then weeks or months go by and you realize their lives don't show the fruit of what they previously professed.  On the other hand, there are some who don't make any waves at all.  Yet, everytime they turn around, they're doing something to make God famous.

What makes the difference, I wonder?  The difference is found in the decision we make concerning what we will do when a compromising situation presents itself.  I guess that's why God doesn't leave anything to the imagination when He gives us His Word.  He tells us over and over again to stay in the Word, refuse to look to the left or to the right, and meditate on it day and night. 

Why such desperation, you may ask?  Because the greatest enemy is not even the devil, who hates us with a passion.  It's the enemy within that lurks beneath the image we try so hard to present to other believers that we fail to properly confront those issues and feelings we're having.  I wonder whether the outcome would've still been the same if Saul had stopped to shore up those weak places in his heart.  What if he had stopped to be honest with himself and said, "Dude, you've got a problem with man-pleasing.  Watch for that when you get to the battle.  Remember what God said.  No matter what, obey HIM above all else."

We can all take a lesson from Saul's mistake.  It's possible that, deep down inside, we may be more concerned about how others feel than how God feels.  After all, He's gracious and forgiving, right?  His love is unconditional and won't change towards us no matter WHAT we do.  But we must never forget that God's ways are His ways.  He doesn't think the way we do.  He sees what we don't see.  We have to trust and obey Him, no matter what we think it might cause us to lose from others.  The key is we can't lose our desperation to obey God, and that must always be at the forefront.  It truly is all... Or nothing.

Prayer: Father, here I am.  I am nothing without You.  Apart from You I am totally helpless to stand up to the enemy.  But by Your great grace, nothing shall be impossible for me to accomplish.  May I always remember that You purchased my soul, and You own me.  I am not my own, so I depend on You to guide me and protect me from the enemy's traps.  I love and trust You forever.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.