Obey My voice, and I will be your God,, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you that it may be well with you. Jeremiah 7:23
Before we ever walked into the store, I told my two kids how I expected them to behave. . . . .in detail. This particular store brought out the worst begging in my children. In addition to my detailed outline for good behavior, there was also a reward of sorts for obeying. Maybe a small something from the store or an ice cream cone, or even going to McDonalds or Sonic for lunch. And no, we didn’t do that lots. Cumulatively, eating out, even at McDonalds, was expensive and we had to watch our pennies.
I wish I could tell you they always obeyed so the rest of the day went well for them, but I can’t. They, like all kids, chose to disobey at least half the time, maybe more.
Today’s verse reminds me that when I obey God’s voice & walk in the way He shows me, it is indeed well with me.
But I tend to be like my children at that store. I choose to disobey. We all do this. Sometimes we do it outright. Sometimes the enemy sugar coats things and we fall for it, not realizing at the time what a bad choice we are making.
How thankful I am for God’s grace and mercy. He is faithful even when I am not. When I confess my sin, He is faithful to forgive. I get to start again with a clean slate.
The same thing happened with my children. The next time we went to that store, they had another opportunity to obey.
God loves us like that too. He forgives us. He picks us up and dusts us off. He asks us to obey Him and walk in ALL the ways He tells us. We have another opportunity to obey.
Obeying isn’t always easy. But the closer I stay to Him, the better I am at it.
Dear one, press in closer to Him and see how good it is. And when you disobey ( notice I didn’t say if ), confess it. He will be faithful to forgive and give you a fresh start.
We all want it to be well with us. Lean in closer to God. Stay in His word and talk with Him. It makes all the difference.
Lord – Help me to obey Your voice and walk in ALL the ways You command. Thank you for Your grace and mercy even though I don’t deserve it. Help me to be all you want me to be. Amen