November 14

Ezekiel 29:1-30-26, Hebrews 11:32-12:13, Psalm 112:1-10, Proverbs 27:17

Pray: Father, help me to delight in obedience. I want to learn quickly. I want to come into the things of God rejoicing and not kicking and screaming!

Read: In Psalm 112 we see what happens when we absolutely delight in obeying God’s word. The psalmist tells us that those who delight in obeying His commands will (1) have successful children, (2) will bless an entire generation, (3) will themselves be wealthy, and (4) their good deeds will be remembered forever. The key word here is DELIGHT.

There was a little boy attending church with his mom. Sitting in the pew and being a little guy he couldn’t see what was going on very well. So, he stood up on the pew cushion. His mom quickly told him to sit down which he RELUCTANTLY did. But there were all kinds of things going on up front and he wanted to see. So, again he stood up. And again, his mom told him to sit down even pulling him down with her outstretched arm. The little boy looked up at his mom and said, “I may be sitting down on the outside but I’m standing up on the inside.” This young man was RELUCTANTLY obeying his mom. He was not delighting in obeying her. DELIGHT is a choice far more than it is a feeling. We can choose to pursue obedience with everything we have and are, or we can be dragged into obedience kicking and screaming. Are you that little boy?

Edify: Proverbs 27:17 tells us that iron sharpens iron and friends sharpen friends. The New Testament declares pretty much the same truth when we are encouraged to PROVOKE one another to love and good works.

This is “kick each other in the rear” theology! We are to hold each other accountable for both attitudes and actions. Do you have an accountability partner? Do you have someone you trust and will tell you the truth about your attitudes and actions? Are you that person in another’s life?

Practice: Practice thanking God for all the hard places, difficult relationships, and trying circumstances you are in. Thanksgiving turns RELUCTANCE into DELIGHT. Thanksgiving needs to be practiced…a lot. In fact, the more reluctance you feel the more thanksgiving you must enter into in order to experience DELIGHT. Start conversations with others with, “I’m thankful for you. Let me tell you why.”