Working the Word (Walking Away From Addiction to The Sweet Arms of Jesus) Willing and Obedient Part 1 of 2

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”

 August 15, 2016

 Willing and Obedient Part 1 of 2

Isaiah 1:19

If you are willing and obedient,
    you will eat the good things of the land; 

Today the Lord is leading me to talk about willingness. I have some experience in the area of unwillingness, how about you? It is a fact of human life since the fall of man that people have been unwilling to obey the Lord or follow after His precepts – teachings, directions, etc. Why is this? For people who are Christians especially, why is it so hard to be willing? Why do we go to church and sing all these songs about surrendering our lives to the Lord and trusting Him, only to go right home and keep doing things the same old, ungodly and unproductive way?

This is something I have dealt with myself, so I understand just a little something about it. The answer is twofold really. First, it has to do with fear. If we do things God’s way, we fear that letting go completely of what we have been treasuring as our “pacifier” for so long will cause us great discomfort. Most of us are not willing to be one bit uncomfortable. And even though walking in addiction is quite uncomfortable at best, in the end, we seem to think it will help us more than the one true God that we say we trust in so much.

The other issue is the desires of the flesh. We like certain things and we are not willing to give them up. While we are in public or at church we can pretend all day long to be a good Christian and say we love the Lord. But when we  leave the public eye, there are more than one set of eyes watching what we do privately – the Lord’s are on us every moment. Not only does He see what we are doing, He sees down into the depth of our hearts. He asks so little of us, yet many are simply not willing to sacrifice anything. They do not want to give up their “floaty” or “pacifier”. They do not want to stop eating this or drinking that. They choose the “quick” high rather than the everlasting peace that can take us higher than anything on this earth ever could.

To be willing is the single most important first step to take in this verse. I believe that is why the Lord put the word  “willing” first. Because if we are not willing, then we will certainly never be obedient. Ok, so how has this played out in my life? Well, several years ago the Lord gave me a food  plan to follow to keep my weight at a healthy level. He wanted me to be strong and healthy so I could do the hard work He is calling me to do in ministry. He also wants others to see His power perfected in my weakness.

But did I struglle with unwillingness? You bet I did. Yet, as I continued to follow after the Master, He continued to correct me, discipline me, comfort me and love me unconditionally. He continued to encorage me through His word and His Spirit to do the right thing. There were days after I was corrected when I would straighten up and do the right thing – much like a little child who just received a spanking. But then as time went on, I would gradually start to slide backwards again, and again, and again.

So how does a heart become willing? What can take away our stony heart (hard heart toward God) and make it a heart of flesh (soft and pliable)? Only His Holy Spirit can as we wash our minds, or renew them in His word constantly. I can tell you for certain that if I was not sitting under really high quality godly teaching, and reading His word and speaking it out loud over myself every day, I would not be where I am today. I have really struggled with this whole idea of willingness. But the Lord looks at that like rebellion, and pride. After all, those are the characteristics of the devil. It was those types of attitudes that got Lucifer and 1/3 of the angels thrown out of heaven - pride and rebellion.

The bottom line is this. Are you and I really in for working out our salvation by being willing to do things God’s way? Are we willing to give up a few COMFORTS IN THIS LIFE TO FOLLOW AFTER THE MASTER so we could hear Him one day say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (BTW: I didn’t intend to type that in all caps, but I just heard the Lord tell me to leave it like that.) Ok Lord – You got it!

The choice is always up to us. Every single moment of every day, the Lord is looking for people who are willing to make the sacrifice and give up some of the pleasures of this life to live the kingdom life and bear fruit that will last forever. Ho-Ho’s and ice cream do nothing but steal, kill and destroy. So do pills and alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and all types of other ungodly behaviors. I know because I have engaged in most of them. I never felt good afterwards either. I felt like a piece of trash.

Conversely, when I spend time with the Lord and do things His way, I always come away feeling good, stronger, encouraged and deeply loved. What a deal! Do you want that too? You can have it. It is yours. Take it right now. Exchange the devil’s attitude of unwillingness for the Lord’s attitude of humility and willingness to do things His way. Then be prepared to sit back and watch how God will show up in your every weakness and every area of your life to give you the abundant life your heart truly longs for.

You will not be disappointed – I assure you. God is faithful! God bless you!