Delighting in Obedience

For the Proverbs 31 Made to Crave Blog Hop today, I chose the topic “Delighting in Obedience”.

I’m going to throw this out there–I have not been completely obedient even in this study. Currently, I am behind in my reading, but I am trying to catch up! 🙂 I’ve also had a few weak moments in this study of eating healthy and craving God. Maybe you can relate to me today?! That doesn’t mean that it’s over or I (or you) have failed! It just means we need to press on and be OBEDIENT!

So, here’s my take on this subject.

The definition for Delight(ing) is: Great pleasure with synonyms of happiness, joy, glee and gladness.

The definition for Obedience is: Compliance with an order, request or law or submission to another’s authority.

Oh boy, there’s that word SUBMISSION!!!! I don’t say “bad words” on my blog, so I can assure you that submission is NOT a bad word!  We must be happy & joyful about submitting to Jesus’ authority and comply with his request. The way I look at is this–Yes, the Bible is full of laws. As is the world we live in. I slow down when I come near a red light camera because I don’t want to get a ticket in the mail {I’ve never had one and my family would enjoy that too much!}. I know the “danger” ahead of me, so I respond to it. BUT–that is not a CHANGE in my behavior. Why? Because I don’t always drive the speed limit at other times. Basically, I am conditioned to knowing where the cameras are, so I slow down. But if I truly changed I would drive the speed limit ALL THE TIME!

What does this have to do with Made to Crave? EVERYTHING! If I changed my behavior I would not have an issue with eating. Let me just ask you this……Have you ever eaten a salad when you went out with your girlfriends (because they know you are trying to watch what you eat and be healthier), then gone home and eaten potato chips or pulled out that can of frosting in the fridge or bag of cookies from the shelf? It’s the same thing. You are conditioned to being a certain way around others, but still never really changing.

I LOVE the way The Message puts this verse:  “So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” Romans 6:16

I don’t want to “live any old way I want”! I want to live how God wants me to live. I want to be Delighting in Obedience to Him. 1 John 2:3 says “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.” WOW! That is a powerful verse! If we KNOW God then we KEEP His commands (which means we OBEY him)!  Do I want to please my friends or do I want to please God? Oh friend, this took me a LONG time to figure out! And I have to tell you that I’m okay now with pleasing God, not people. I am far from perfect though.  In Galatians 1:10 it says “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” So according to this I can’t be a servant of Christ if I want to please people!

I must delight in obedience to please the Lord and follow His commands! This means with EVERY area of my life…..even the chocolate, bread, pasta, sugar loving areas (which makes up a WHOLE lot of me if you know what I mean!). I must be willing to follow Him not only when it’s easy {for me}–like being faithful to my husband, but when it’s hard like not eating that brownie or pizza. Although it is horrible & difficult for me to admit–I struggle WAY more with food than with most other areas of my life. I know that my struggle is not secret because the world can see what I look like on the outside, but if God sees what I look like on the inside then He can help me fix what you see on the outside! 🙂 The number on the scale doesn’t define me. The person who looks at me funny when I walk into the gym doesn’t define me. The mom across the street who runs 10 miles a day {and is a size 0} doesn’t define me. God defines me! Oh precious Sister in Christ–let God define you!