Choosing Obedience, Part 1: The Fight of the Heart

Usually those who read these meditations are Christians—engaged in the “fight of their hearts” to be the people God has called them to be. How do I know, as a Christian, if I am growing and maturing in my walk with Christ Jesus?

We should all know that the Christian’s life should always be moving forward—always growing, never static. Our Father is constantly revealing truth to us. We should be trying to download it into our lives. Our Father does not bless knowledge—only obedience.

I believe the lack of the personal experience of Christ in Christians today can only be explained because of our lack of obedience. When God gives us His truth, if we don’t intentionally act upon it daily, He takes it away. This is what Jesus calls “dead faith.”

Our disobedience limits us from receiving all that God wants for us and from experiencing Him. When our Father gives us light, He asks us to step into His light where He meets us with His presence.

Jesus asks us to trust Him with our lives daily, not for us to think it through and see if we have a better option than Him.

I passionately believe that the world is filled with followers of Jesus who not only walk but run to “the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6, NKJV)” on a daily basis. Quite frankly, those are the people I want to “run” with because they provoke me with their non-negotiable love for Christ. They delight in obeying Him no matter what.

I tell my friends, “My biggest fight on a daily basis is with my own heart.” All Christians are called to engage in this “fight of the heart.” During this fight, we are pulled in many directions and sent messages contrary to God’s ways.

There is no state of perfection for any Christian. Nobody ever arrives. Our depravity is too real, and we’ll only be free of it in Heaven. But this fight of faith, men and women, is worth fighting.

When we choose Jesus’ ways, the Holy Spirit is free to get involved with our experience of Christ’s abiding presence. His power is always there. His presence is to be experienced. His commands are to be acted upon.

Obedience is never to be feared. When God commands us to move forward in His ways, His joy meets us when we say, “Yes, Lord.”

I challenge all of us to write down one thing that we will do in Jesus’ name that we have never done before. If we make our lives about His glory, it will be filled with His blessings.

The Christian’s biggest enemy is for the good we do to keep us focused on ourselves. This keeps us from the ultimate blessing: the heart that says, “Yes, Lord, have Your pleasure with me.”

Next week, we’ll look at another of our greatest enemies: postponed obedience.