Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
Jos 24:15 ¶ And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
I am still studying fear, and now have moved into discovering what is the fear of the Lord. I came across this verse and the idea occurs to me that fear is not a passive thing when it comes to truly fearing and honoring and valuing my relationship with God. Fearing God is very active and deliberate, unlike the passive fear response we experience when threatened.
The setting is Joshua is telling the people to actively choose to fear the Lord and put away idols. I did a quick inventory of the idols I currently tend to worship: money, my kids, my job, being in control, self pity, pride, stubbornness. I determined these were idols in my life by considering how much time, money, energy and thought life I put into those things.
One thing I realized when I thought about these idols--I really can change how I think and feel about these things--but I haven't really WANTED to. And, here's the key--TO COVER UP THE FACT THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO CHANGE, I TOLD MYSELF I WAS TOO HELPLESS TO CHANGE THE WAY I AM.
I have great reasons why I have to keep on doing things the way I do--stressed out, worried about what people will think, wondering how to keep everybody happy, not taking care of my body.
But buried in those excuses is the solid "NO!" that I am saying to God. And all the wishing or agreeing in my mind with what I should do will not change the fact that I am rebelling against God.
The other thing I realized is that I WILL KNOW WHEN MY WILL IS SURRENDERED WHEN I ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Until I actually make a change, I am merely accenting to obedience.
Knowing this actually gives me a freedom to pray and seek God with more authority and sincerity. Instead of praying, "God help me, because I CAN'T do what I should," I can pray, "God help me, because I don't WANT to do what I should". My prayers are directed to the root of the problem instead of at the periphery. God can handle my honest lack of will and work on my heart. If I am feigning helplessness, He has to wait for me to get real.
"God help me change" becomes, "God help me WANT to change" and that is truly fearing the Lord.
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