When our children were growing up, there were times when I heard a certain statement come from their mouths. I would tell them to do a chore, such as cleaning their bedroom so the floor could be seen, and I would receive this response; “But I don’t FEEL like cleaning my room.” To which I would usually reply, “Well, if I only did what I FELT like doing, not much would get done.” If that comment didn’t tug at their heartstrings and they still didn’t want to obey, I would tell them that if they didn’t do what they were told to do, they would be FEELING something warm on their backside :-)
I can laugh at those times now but when I was in the situation, I usually wasn’t laughing much. I just wanted them to do what I wanted them to do with no arguing. Was that too much to ask? It would frustrate me when they couldn’t comprehend the fact that life would be much happier for all of us if they would just trust me to know what was best for them. From my perspective, it didn’t matter whether they FELT like doing something or not; if I as their parent wanted them to dust the furniture then they should cheerfully bow to me and say, “Yes dear mother, your wish is our command”. OK...maybe I was expecting a little too much!
Reliving those days made me ask myself if my Heavenly Father ever tells me to do something, only to hear from me, “But I don’t FEEL like doing that”. If I am honest, I have to say yes, He has heard that response from me. I wonder if He gets frustrated when I don’t comprehend the fact that life would go much easier if I would just trust Him to know what is best for me. I know there have been many times when my disobedience deserved a good “warming of my backside” and it could have been avoided if I would have just done what I was told to do.
Is your Heavenly Father asking you to do something now that you don’t FEEL like doing? Are you listing reason after reason why you don’t think you should have to obey Him? When you do this, you are actually telling Him that you know more than He does and there usually isn’t a good outcome when a child feels that way about their parent; especially when the parent is the God of the universe. It might be something as simple as going to church on Sunday. You know He wants you to put aside that time to worship Him, but because you don’t FEEL like going, you find every excuse as to why you can’t fit it in your schedule. Or maybe He is asking you to step out of your comfort zone and share about Him with an unsaved friend. But because you fear looking “different” or being called a religious freak, you choose to be disobedient.
As we go throughout our week, let’s be intentional in obeying our Father whether we FEEL like it or not. I am confident that we will be blessed for our obedience and we may be surprised that our FEELINGS just might change as we do what He is telling us to do. He died for us and rose again so we can have a future with hope and all He asks of us is to trust Him and be obedient. Is that too much to ask?
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