A Natural Response

Personally, I hope that my obedience to God continues to develop into a very natural response to God’s love for me.  (I used to use the words ‘impulse’ and ‘reflex’ but such types of actions are involuntary; I like to think that we can make the voluntary choice to obey the Lord and allow it to be a part of ourselves through time, practice, and accountability.)  When I think about the magnitude of His sacrifice, I can’t help but want to give all of me to Him.  When I think about what I so unfairly gained, it is only proper to give all of me to such a good God.

Of course, that is easier said than done.  Through the ebbs and flows of any given week, temptations and worldly standards bombard me like crazy.  There are so many forces specifically designed to turn my eyes away from Jesus and disobey. 

What really helps me is taking the time to preach truth myself especially in the morning when my mind is freshly emptied after a full night’s sleep.  I tell myself “God loves me” over and over, reminding myself that I live and should live because of His love for me.  When such meditations prime my brain for future thoughts and actions, I’m much more driven to obey on a daily basis. 

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the man^[a]
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.