| |
Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
|
| |
encouragement in things that matter |
|
| |
An Audience of One
|
|
| |
Even though we may get frustrated with "the terrible two’s," overall, the little people in our lives delight in pleasing the moms and dads and grandma’s and papa’s that love them. Warm words of affirmation, a tousled head, or a bear hug, satisfy the longings of their little hearts and bring renewed efforts of doing the "good" or the "right," over and over again. Teenagers may appear to shrink from such demonstrations of affirmation, and yet still quietly be grateful for them. The teenager though obeys basically, because he or she chooses to. There may be varied reasons for their choices, but there is a realization that choices exist, and if obedience comes, it comes because they have chosen. As a believer, I too, have choices. Like the teenager, I need to recognize the options that are mine, good, bad, or seemingly neutral, and come to a decision. As a child of God, apart from my actively pursuing a nurturing of my relationship with God, what God most wants from me, is my obedience. His desire is that I would knowingly, willingly, and habitually choose obedience. But my obedience with God is more than just a choice. It is something that all the nuances of my being should find absolute delight in. I can delight because I know my Father delights in me. I can delight because there is joy and satisfaction in obedience. I can delight because my obedience glorifies my Father within my watching world, and enhances His ministry and purposes within it as well.
If all this is true, why then is obedience sometimes so difficult? As with the teenager, there are varied reasons we could consider, but I would like for us to think about just one. Sometimes our obedience is hindered simply because we listen to the wrong voices. Some "wrong voices" are very evident – obvious, but still alluring temptations, the pull of old destructive habits, or the acceptable norms of our society that run counter to biblical belief. Other voices are harder to discern. Rather than delighting in obedience solely to God, we delight in pleasing friends, co-workers, family members, ministry helpers, or even spouses. In considering choices that lay before us, we may first wonder what would most please one of these, or our thinking rehearses their expectations for us. I am not saying that we should never consider the feelings or thinking of others, but I am saying that should not be our first consideration. Our first consideration should always be, "What does God want?" Imagine being a wife who first asks, "What does God want?" That wife will know the delights of obedience, and she will be to her husband the very unique wife that God wants her to be.
The concept of the believer having an audience of One is more than just a catchy phrase. Although the popularity of its phrasing sometimes loses its impact, a powerful nugget of truth is still there. Our Audience of One calls us to choose an obedience that both He and we will delight in.
|
|
| |
|
— Bev |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
