Monday, May 3, 2010

Obedience

…and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to perform.” Exodus 36:5

One of the struggles in every church I’ve ever attended has been having enough.  Enough people.  Enough money.  Enough provision.  I see in Exodus 35 how God stirred the people’s hearts.  In these chapters, there are two distinct actions – God stirring and the people responding.  They are separate.  Just because God stirs does not mean that the action will be automatic.  Otherwise there would be no such thing as sin or disobedience.

When I look at the condition of churches in general and my church specifically, it is obvious we lack the abundance, whether in manpower, finances, or resources in general.  Somewhere there is disobedience.  Many places, actually.

The challenge for me today, though, is this.  Am I personally being obedient to the stirring inside me?  I can’t cover all of the provision, but so often I let that discourage me.  If there’s no way to handle it all myself and no way to ensure that everyone else is going to be obedient, how in the world can such a massive task be accomplished? 

In truth, that is God’s job, not mine.  Mine is to obey, and if I’m not doing my part then I hold responsibility for the shortage. 

I don’t know if I’m doing all that God has stirred within me to do, probably because I haven’t stopped to consider it.  So, today my challenge is to do just that – consider my own obedience.  If I am being fully obedient, then God will take care of the rest.  If I am not, then it’s high time for me to fix it! 

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