Lesson 5 in our review of A Woman After God’s Own Heart, by Elizabeth George.
I remember as a young girl, looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, “Why am I here? What is my purpose?” I think most of us have pondered that question at some time or other. But as a follower of Christ, it’s narrowed that question to, “What does God want from me as a Christian?” God doesn’t snatch us up out of this world and take us to heaven (as wonderful as that would be!) the moment we get saved. Why not? What purpose does He have for leaving us here?
We continue our series of the review of A Woman After God’s Own Heart.
What is the one action that proves our love for God?
If you’ve ever wondered why God made commands for us to obey, or why He put the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the Garden, and then told Adam and Eve not to eat it, think about this truth –
God did not make us to be robots; He made us people with a heart to choose to love Him.
Ever since the first man and woman were created, God has been after our hearts. He wants us to love Him. John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Our obedience is the proof of our love.
But it is a struggle, isn’t it? Paul said, For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. Romans 7:19
Even David, the one called, A man after God’s own heart, struggled with doing the evil that he didn’t want to do, yet chose to do. It’s comforting to us who struggle to know that David was still a man after God’s own heart. We can be women who follow God, who love and obey God, even though we still disobey.
When David is living and serving God, there is another man who is on the throne – it’s King Saul. Saul Said he loved God, but his actions – his disobedience proved otherwise.
Let’s look again into E. George’s book….A Woman After God’s Own Heart to learn how we can obey.
How can we grow so that we are consistently obedient? I want us to remember that God is always after our heart. He doesn’t want our lip service, but he wants our heart.
Proverbs 4 reminds us to ponder the path of our feet and look straight ahead, not side to side. Rather than turning to the right or to the left, we are to follow God’s ways. Living a life of obedience will happen when we diligently guard our heart.
Concentrate on doing what is right. If we really love God, we are going to look into his Word and we are going to pray and be ready to do everything he says to do. This is a teachable heart that will focus on doing what is right. What about those times when you’re not sure what the right thing is? Elizabeth says first of all don’t do anything until you know what is right. Next ask God for guidance. Pray about it. Think through the Scriptures and ask advice from a godly, seasoned Christian. If you’re still unsure, do nothing until you know what the right thing is.
Cease doing what is wrong. The moment that you realize that you have done something to disobey the Lord, stop it immediately! When you are in the middle of an activity that you know is wrong, God will give you strength to get out of the temptation. Saul was not supposed to offer the sacrifice, but was told to said for Samuel to come and do that. He got impatient. If at any moment while he was preparing the sacrifice, he would have realized he was sinning, and stopped, he could have saved himself a lot of heartache.
Confess any wrong. Keep short accounts of your sin. Name the sin. Elizabeth says that we need to train our heart to be responsive to God’s convicting Spirit. Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sin will not Prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes will have mercy. I remember recently being convicted over an unloving statement that I said to someone about another person. I could not get any rest until I made it right with the Lord. Immediately, I had peace, knowing that He had forgiven me.
Clear things with others after you’ve made it right with God, if you’ve hurt another person clear it up with them too. As I just said a moment ago, I confessed to God my sin of saying something unloving, then had to reach out to the person that I had said it to and make it right with them. That also helps when you’re tempted to sin the next time!!
Continue on as soon as possible – . Satan would love for us to feel so discouraged in our disobedience that we quit following God. He wants us to say, “Why even bother?” But we know that we are forgiven and our sins are removed from us as far as the East is from the West. Think the truth. Philippians 3:13 and 14 remind us that we are to forget those things which are behind and reach forward under the things that are before us and press toward the goal for the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Do we have a desire to have a heart that follows after God and obedience? Psalm 63:8 says, My soul follows hard after thee; Thy right hand upholds me. We need to acknowledge any disobedience in our life, confess the sin, and choose to forsake it. Then we can realize that we are on the path of being a woman after God’s heart.
All along, let us remember we are not asked to understand, but simply to obey. ~Amy Carmichael
We are not robots, we are people – women who must choose obedience. It proves our love for our Savior.
In a couple of weeks, I will have completed another read through the Bible. That’s saying nothing about me, but I do want to say something about God’s Word – it changes me!
The reason I started reading through the Bible many years ago is because I had not really gotten the “whole story” in my head. I had broken up segments of the Old Testament happenings I’d heard since my childhood. I knew some of the psalms and loved Paul’s epistles, but reading all the way through the Bible has taught me and profited me so much!
Reading through the Bible has shown me the thread of redemption that is woven throughout all of Scripture. After the fall of man,, we see God providing, not just Adam and Eve’s present needs, but telling He would provide a sacrifice for mankind. Then all through its pages, we see pictures and types of Christ, coming to save us from our sin. From Abraham, Joshua, Moses, Joseph and the psalms, we are pointed to His suffering, death and resurrection!
Reading through the Bible has given me a greater love for God’s Word. I see the way Scripture commentates on itself. I see Christ on each page. I see the way the Word is knit together like the yarns of a scarf through the weaver’s shuttle. It’s a Book like no other book! It is alive! It is powerful! It is life-giving!
Reading through the Bible has caused me to grow spiritually. Oh, how dear it is to open my Bible and hear God speak Truth to my heart! The Spirit of God teaches me His character, gives me hope for the future, and convicts me of sin so I can get it right. All of this causes growth.
Reading through the Bible has given me a greater desire to memorize Scripture. Because I see its value to change me, I know it’s essential to have it hidden in my heart. Psalm 119 is full of reminders why I need to memorize – it gives comfort, it gives me words to answer others, it guides me, it keeps me from sin…and so many other reasons.
I will definitely be reading through the Bible in 2022. Whitney shared on her blog this week that she’s going to be doing The Bible Recap. That is a chronological reading. I’m praying about whether to do that or to repeat the Bible in a year on you version. It takes you through the old and New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. I love the variety. Through this plan I’ve also seen the redemption thread woven so beautifully.
Have you ever read through the Bible? If it seems daunting to you, realize you just take it one day at a time. I believe having a plan doesn’t overwhelm you, but it keeps you on track. Pray and ask God to give you a hunger for His word, and then make a plan to dive in come January 1, 2022.
You can go here to see a tool that has helped me as I’ve read the Bible.
RefreshHer 