I've been spending my free time getting fit again. It's still a far cry from my high school days when I could run laps and laps, for what seemed like an eternity, without tiring. Nowadays I've taken to saying to myself, "No more excuses," and just heading out for a bike ride, a jog or doing my regular workout without delay. So far it's been good.
Nike had it right, "Just do it." Simple and to the point, straightforward and commanding. Just do it. Get 'er done. There's the side of obedience we struggle with, just doing what we've been commanded to do. We always talk about that, we discuss the excuses we make in order to justify why we can't or won't do something that God has explicitly commanded us to do. Then there's the other side that says, "If you do this Lord, then I promise such and such to you.." and we make some pretty tragic vows with the Lord, when He just wants us to obey.
"36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil."
(Matthew 5:36-37)
Jesus was talking about making oaths and how you shouldn't do it because it's not necessary, and it's not wise. You either make promises you cannot keep, or promises that are beyond what you bargained for (and not remotely close to being in your control), and in either case, making such vows isn't exactly God honouring, or God-trusting. Letting your "yes be yes," fits into obedience and submission. Don't give yourself room to make excuses, or to create ultimatums or "tragic vows". A submissive servant does what the master says without question. He is able to do this because, he trusts, knows, loves and respects the master.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15)
If you love the Lord, just do it. I find it funny to imagine Jesus saying something like, "If you love me, think on it for a few weeks, then come back and let me know if that's gonna do it for you or not. If you're not sure we can make a bargain or you promise me something and I'll promise you back such and such to make sure you get it done." Thankfully, he never said any of that.
I've been reading through Judges and arrived at Jephthah and his own tragic vow (Judges 11:29-40). A vow that absolutely did not need to be made. God was with him, God was going to hand the Ammonites over to him, all Jephthah needed to do was obey. But his story illustrated that making vows or oaths in the stead of "just doing it," and trusting God, just leads to tragedy and heartbreak.
There is a lot of baggage we hold onto that keeps us from just doing what we're told. Our wants and our desires often get in the way, dancing in front of us as huge distractions. It's our responsibility to deal with all that and let it go, so that we do not give ourselves excuses not to trust God, and therefore not obey. I've heard it said multiple times, "Delayed obedience is disobedience." Delays will always create more obstacles than you need.
When the command is clear, just go for it. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes'.
Mornings...
I woke up this morning with my thoughts consumed with worry, anxiousness and concerns over things I could not control. It was tiring and discouraging to have these thoughts weighing on my heart. The war that wages in my thoughts about such things is constant at times. I sway from saying "Yes God, this is in your hands, You've got this, it's Good," to "Why God? Why can't you just help me figure out some way to make this work out the way I want it to?".
Doubtless this is the war waging in the heart and mind of every Christian, moment by moment.
The solution always seems to simple. We see the bar to which we can attain peace, joy, and rest, and yet we struggle to get there. We know the good we ought to do, but we fail to do it. The mind is a powerful thing, and submitting those thoughts to God is a tough process. I do not have any permanent solutions to this ongoing battle within the heart and mind; no formula to make it stop, or to make it any less painful and trying. All that comes to my mind, whenever I need my thoughts to be saved and the chaos to be stilled is prayer.
We are all control freaks. For me, it's in my mind where I struggle; I long to hold on to certain thoughts and ideas that give an illusion of control, but really have no benefit and in turn, they keep me from feeling or functioning optimally. These thoughts keep me unsubmissive to God, and leave me in doubt of His goodness.
Prayer is ultimately submission. Submission that changes your heart. It's willful submission to God's presence and power. In prayer, we come to a place where we desire for our unyielding hearts to be softened and transformed into ones that submit and desire what our Beloved desires.
Today's conversation looked something like this:
"Why do I care so much about these things? Things that should not matter more that You. Relationships do not matter more than You, money does not matter more than You, God, and yet here I am, trying to get it all together, but still weighed down by both. How do I give them up? When I look to You, they're supposed to become lesser in light of You, why aren't they yet?"
God stirred my heart.
"I don't want to care about these things anymore. I just want You. I just want to want You, in all the honesty I can muster. Just help me to do this, because I'm not sure how."
There was a heart change happening as I spoke and reflected. In my transparency, there was a working of God's Spirit in me.
There is no sense in being anything less than transparent before God. Although He sees right through us, He desires for us to come and learn to submit to Him through prayer. Prayer is not only for us to give requests, but to acknowledge and realize in our hearts and minds, the sovereign and almighty character of God and to submit to his lordship.
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)
