When you TRUST and OBEY…. you are PLEASING GOD!

I’m participating in this month’s devotional carnival over at http://rachelolsen.blogspot.com/2010/03/devotional-carnival-pleasing-god.html, be sure to check out some of the other links for more devotions on Pleasing God!

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God.” Isaiah 50:10 (NLT)
 
So if I know what is pleasing to God, why is it so hard for me to trust and obey? I have turned some areas of my life over to Him completely, but why not all areas? I mean He has never let me down when I have actually trusted and obeyed Him, so why is it hard for me? SATAN is why!! I feel God allows him to put doubts and fears into my head to test my trust and obedience. In the beginning God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve and they made the choice to not trust God and to be disobedient to the one command He gave them. Several times a day we are faced with trials and temptations to test our faith and obedience. Why? Well, in 1 Peter 1:6-7 it says “SO BE TRULY GLAD. THERE IS WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE TO ENDURE MANY TRIALS FOR A LITTLE WHILE.  THESE TRIALS WILL SHOW YOUR FAITH IS GENUINE.  IT IS BEING TESTED AS FIRE TESTS AND PURIFIES GOLD – THOUGH YOUR FAITH IS FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN MERE GOLD.  SO WHEN YOUR FAITH REMAINS STRONG THROUGH MANY TRIALS, IT WILL BRING YOU MUCH MORE PRAISE AND GLORY AND HONOR ON THE DAY WHEN JESUS CHRIST IS REVEALED TO THE WORLD” In the study guide of my NLT Life Application Bible it gives a wonderful explanation of this ….We must accept trials as part of the refining process that burns away impurities and prepares us to meet Christ. As gold is heated, impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off. Likewise, our trials, struggles, and persecutions refine and strengthen our faith, making us useful to God. Instead of asking, “Why me?” we should respond to in tough times with “I TRUST you Lord, what are you wanting me to learn from this?” God wants us to push past those doubts and fears and TRUST Him, He created us; therefore, how could He NOT know what is best for us? 

When we TRUST Him, we will OBEY and follow where the Holy Spirit is leading us. I have found from my own experience when I OBEY Him I do things I never would have done on my own. My trust is growing and I’m learning to obey those nudges that I get. God has never let me down. When I have been nudged with a task and I’m not sure if I’m really hearing it correctly and the doubt starts kicking in (remember here Satan is tricky), if I take it to God in prayer and set it at His feet and ask Him if this is what He is wanting me to do and TRUST that He will show me the way if it is…. I better watch out if it is because it’s going to be coming at me from every direction. Like doing this post, I’m not a writer nor am I grammatically inclined but as soon as I read the topic last Monday, TRUST and OBEY immediately popped into my head and I knew he wanted me to write this.  Not only has the hymn “Trust and Obey” been going through my head nonstop but I’ve seen or heard those words fifty times since then… I never cease to be amazed at how He works. 
 
I didn’t truly grasp what it meant to be a Christian until I started searching for answers in His Word and He met me there, took my hand, and is leading me down roads I never thought I would go. 
 
I don’t know about ya’ll but when I don’t push past those doubts and fears and I try doing things my way, I end up falling flat on my face. How have you handled your testing today? What are those areas in your life that are still in the darkness that you need to trust in the Lord and rely on God to help you with? Are you ready to turn it over to Him or are you going to keep falling on your face? 
 
Writing this post for others to see was way outside my comfort zone BUT because I TRUST you Lord, I OBEYED.  I pray you heard the Holy Spirit through the words above, because I obviously wrote this for someone out there, or maybe it was for me. ….. BTW, sorry for going over the word count limit, but I was just following His lead.
 
TRUST AND OBEY (the hymn that has been going through my head 🙂
 
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
 
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

**Re-read the verse (Isaiah 50:10) at the top of this post then read this one that follows it…. 

“But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.” Isaiah 50:11 (NLT)
 
Hmmm, something to think about…..

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