“Come Reason”
Newsletter of Denise Smith
Volume no. 1203-2
December 11, 2003
Traditions and Teachings of Men Versus the Will of God!
Another week is coming to a close, and with that I’d like to share with you a few things that have been discussed in our emails and chat sessions. First, I am still amazed at the number of people professing that God is Lord of their lives, and yet do not even ask God or seek God’s direction or will in the things that they approach, or undertake. I am quite aware that God will always have His will done, but it stands to reason that a person that would say that they serve God, and profess that God is the Lord of their lives, would ask God what His will is in all situations. We need to realize that when we follow the traditions of men, and the things that traditions have taught us, we are not following God, but man. That is where the trials and tribulations will always begin. So many face trials and tribulations and wonder why, yet if we would all step back and see what is going on we’d find out a uniquely consistent situation. Let me explain a bit further, then I’ll ask each of you reading this to see if it applies to your situation.
The traditions of men always tell us what we cannot do, what is not possible to be done, or what we have to do to be acceptable to men. Then we hear the voice of God telling us or directing us in an area, and we know it’s the voice of God, but we also know that to follow what God is saying would mean going against the traditions of men, and the teachings of men, and result in being rejected, by those that follow those traditions. We find that when we follow the traditions of men, and the teachings of men, that we are acceptable to them, and they will receive us and welcome us into their fellowship… yet if we do not then rejection begins. But the trials and tribulations occur not when someone else rejects us or when we are no longer welcomed into the fellowships that we’ve been a part of by following the traditions, the trials and tribulations begin when we start within our own hearts to weigh the instruction and direction of God against the traditions and teachings of men. That is and will always be the only reason that any of us will ever experience trials or tribulations…. think about it. There are many of you right now that know you have a personal direction from God. It is something that God has spoken to you that you are to do, but for you to do it would mean that others will not understand, they will question you in doing it, or already have, or you realize that others will accept you if you do what you know God has said. Yet, in that, you struggle. You have no doubt about what God has said, and is saying to you. You know that God is able to handle all the details to bring it all together, but your only struggle is with “what will others think, or will they understand”? The answer is always NO! Most people will not, even those that claim to love you and believe that God is in control of all things, those will be the people who will do all that they can to make doing the will of God as difficult as possible…. but take heed, it still remains the word and will of God for your life and that will not change.
What if Jesus had waited until all understood what He was directed of God to do? What if God had waited until all of us understood and knew what was ahead before sending Jesus? Was acceptance and approval needed by Christ to do the will of God? Did He need to have the acceptance of those that were his friends, and family to do the will of God? The answer for Christ is the same as the answer for you….NO! Doing the will of God for your life, and following what God is telling you to do needs no confirmation, approval or acceptance of men, regardless of who those men are, or who they claim to be. Your acceptance is with God and you received that when He breathed into you the breath of life, and the acceptance of God will never depend on men, nor should you consider what men say or think before doing what you know God is directing you to do.
Want your trials and tribulations to cease? Want more than anything to do the will of God, for your life? Then you must do whatever it is that God directs you, without hesitation, reservation, acceptance or approval of anyone! Hear God, and do whatever it is that He directs you and let Him deal with the outcome.
Oswald Chambers penned “The Real Cost of Obedience” as follows. “If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, And that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, Obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it cost those who do not love Him a great deal.
If you obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset and they will gibe us with it…”You call this Christianity?” We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be paid…..
We also can disobey God if we so choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. If we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all the consequences to God!”
Have a wonderful week, and remember in all things, HEAR HIM!! ASK HIM!! KNOW HIM!!
You must log in to post a comment.