April 4, 2013 … The Default To Control

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 94

Passage of the Day: 1st Samuel 15: 24-26 [NLT] …  
24 Then Saul finally admitted, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. 25 Oh, please, forgive my sin now and go with me to worship the LORD.” 26 But Samuel replied, “I will not return with you! Since you have rejected the LORD’s command, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.” 
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: 1st Samuel, Chapter 15 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Luke 9: 23 [Discipleship – Jesus style!] [NKJV] … Then He said to them all, “If anyone would follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

My Journal for Today: Have you ever noticed that when we’re under pressure from our world, especially from family or on the job, our human default mechanism is hyper-control. And today, Os Hillman uses the case of King Saul to illustrate this very human tendency. And it was in today’s highlight passage from 1st Samuel, Chapter 15 that we read of Saul, reeling in fear from those around him, trying to do things his own way rather than the way God had clearly instructed him.

Sure, if you read in 1st Samuel 15, when confronted by the Prophet Samuel, Saul confessed; but by then, it was too late; and God, knowing that this was an inherent character flaw of Saul’s, extracted Saul from his kingship and moved on to anoint another as King, … David; and we know from history of Saul’s further character degeneration and conflict which resulted from this episode of selfishness and disobedience.

My friend, so often in my devotionals, as I have today, I’m led back to Jesus’ instructions to His disciples about what it takes to be His disciple; and you can read those instructions again from Luke 9: 23, which I hope you have memorized and emblazoned into your heart. Jesus, just as God desired from Saul, doesn’t ask for partial allegiance and obedience. Our Lord wants it all!! But our human default is to give only what we need to, especially when we’re losing control in our human sphere of influence.

If we’re truly born-again Christians, does this mean that we can lose our salvation when/if we get selfish and try to control things our way rather than God’s?   No, … of courts not. And I’ll not go into the arguments for the eternality of salvation here. Trust me, if you’re saved … YOU ARE SAVED … forever! But we can lose the power of God’s sanctifying grace in our lives when we default to hyper-control rather than being in surrender mode and relying on God’s control in our sphere of influence.

 If we clearly know God’s will – or even if we have a Spirit-led leaning – Jesus says for us to deny our SELF and follow our SAVIOR … all the way and in every way. And if we don’t, … we’re going to be plagued, as was Saul, with losing the power and influence God wants to wield in our lives when we’re obedience and yielding of our spirit to His Spirit.

Where in our lives are we, as Christians, trying to take control rather than yielding control to God?

I’m answering that one for myself this morning. How about you?
  
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I yield! … Amen