Testing the Motive of the Heart

The following post on Joyce Meyer Ministries online daily devotional really challenged me on the importance we place on things, including dreams (even God-given ones), which may be distracting us from being obedient in what God is asking us to do next or in sacrificing what He might be asking us to sacrifice.

After these events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. [God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him.
—Genesis 22:1-3

I believe God was testing Abraham's priorities. Isaac had probably become very important to Abraham, so God tested Abraham to see if he would give up Isaac to Him in faith and obedience. When God saw Abraham's willingness to obey, He provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac.

Remember, we all go through tests. As with Abraham, these tests are designed to try, prove, and develop our faith. One of the tests I had to face was, "What if I never have the ministry I've dreamed about for so long? What if I never get to minister to more than fifty people at a time? Can I still love God and be happy?"

What about you? If you don't get whatever it is you want, can you still love God? Will you still serve Him all the days of your life? Or are you just trying to get something from Him? A fine line divides the motives of the heart between selfish and selfless; and we must always make sure we understand which side of the line we are standing on.

{From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer}

Blessings!

Ronell x

Continue Taking Steps of Obedience

At the moment, there is a very difficult home situation that I am dealing with. Something happened that I thought I knew what my reaction would be; what I would do and say; in fact, my whole family thought the same, but when the situation arose, I reacted in totally the opposite way. This shocked everyone, and most of all it shocked me. So why did I go against what I naturally would have done? Obedience. I simply felt led to react in a different way and so I am, but I tell you what.. it is NOT easy!

I don’t know why God is asking me to choose this path, but what I do know is that He requires obedience. I may not be able to see the end, but He knows and that is good enough for me.

I read Joyce Meyer’s online daily devotional and it happened to be on obedience today, so I thought I would share it. I hope it encourages you!

Whatever He says to you, do it. —John 2:5

Jesus' first recorded miracle took place while He was attending a wedding celebration. When the marriage couple ran out of wine to serve their guests, Mary asked her Son to do something about the situation, telling the servants, "Whatever He tells you to do, do it." Jesus ordered them to fill up several huge water pots. When they had done so, He directed them to draw out of the vessels the water which by then had been miraculously changed into wine (see John 2:1-11). Because of their obedience to Him, the physical needs of many were met that day.

If you are looking for a miracle in your life, make sure you are sowing seeds of obedience, because the Lord has promised us that if we do so in patient confidence and trust in Him, we will eventually reap: And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint (Galatians 6:9).

Sometimes when things are not working out the way we think they should or we are not receiving the answers to our prayers as quickly as we would like, we get the idea, "Well, since God's not doing anything, why should I? Why should I be obedient if it isn't producing results?" In such times we must realize that God is always working. We just may not be able to see it, because He usually works in secret.

{From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer}

Blessings!

Ronell x