Would you obey God if it cost you everything?
It sounds like an easy question. The answer should be obvious to any follower of Jesus.Would you obey God if it cost you everything?
Everything, everyone... would you obey knowing it will cost you everything? Would you obey and continue to obey when it gets harder not just on you but on the people you care about, those around you, when you are obedient to God? In the Exodus we have a picture Israel's labor increased because of the obedience of Moses and Aaron to what God had directed them to do.
5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.' " 2 But Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go." 3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work ? Get back to your labors !" 5 Again Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!" 6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, 7 "You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 "But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' 9 "Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words." 10 So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I am not going to give you any straw. 11 'You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but none of your labor will be reduced.' " 12 So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters pressed them, saying, "Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw." 14 Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?" 15 Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16 "There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, 'Make bricks!' And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people." 17 But he said, "You are lazy, very lazy; therefore you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' 18 "So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks." 19 The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, "You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks." 20 When they left Pharaoh's presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them. 21 They said to them, "May the LORD look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us." 22 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23 "Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all."
When it gets hotter because of your stance of obedience... even if you don't expect deliverance and we have tons of examples in Hebrews 11 & 12 that there isn't always deliverance or rescue. DESPITE the fact that some of our favorite stories show extra-ordinary deliverance, it's not always going to be so. And even if we do get delivered sometimes we have to go through other people's rage and situations that are already hot getting hotter. That's exactly what happened to three young men in the book of Daniel who refused to dishonor God but disobeying him.
8 For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. 9 They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "O king, live forever! 10 "You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre , trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. 11 "But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 "There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up." 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 "Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre , trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers , their coats , their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. 22 For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
Have you ever felt that way? Where you would describe the sensation you're experiencing as: falling, while still tied up, into a blazing furnace.
How often we overlook the humanity of the situation. Because it's a story and we've peeked at the end of the story to know how it ends. We don't feel the pain, or the sensations or thoughts THEY must have been experienced and the fact that things got worse. What must they have thought? We overlook that they "fell"... or they were "extra oppressed."
It's easy when life is smooth or when you have a ton of obvious victories under your belt or when you're not standing before a rage-filled face with things heating up to 7 times the normal heat... and the normal heat was enough to kill in and of itself!
It's easy to say "I will obey even if it costs me everything." Of course... but let your children die or be sacrificed, let all you possess be stripped, let your relationships fall into rubble, let there even come where you doubt enough that you question... whether it's a slow drain off or like one strike after another after another after another. Then it's not about your experience, expertise, skill, knowledge, smarts, ability, ingenuity... then it's about none of that mattering... and it comes down to obedience. Why does it sound so simple and easy?
Of course it's in the easy times we make such comments to always obey God regardless of the cost. That's when we answer "YES, I will obey God if it costs me everything." And we pray for God to give us the courage to stay the course and see it through when the trials, testing and life circumstances strike us.
Praise God for his faithfulness!
posted by miriam plowman @ 10:08 AM
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