The Lord God is a jealous God and he does not want us to put in place anything that we value more than him! Exodus 20v5 - in the passage where God gave Moses the 10 commandments - says "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”; there are similar passages in Exodus 34v14 and Deuteronomy 4v24.
The first of these passages says we are to 'break down the altars, smash the sacred stones’ of anything that does not worship God alone.
I am a Christian and do not have any carved idols or sacred stones, so I can race past such Bible passages without seeing any relevance for me.
But one of the ways in which we see whether we are genuine about loving God is when we seek his guidance. For it is here that we often put in place provisos, limitations and loop-holes. When our prayers take the form:
- “Lord, if you will do this for me, then I will do that for you" - then we set up a proviso
- “Lord, I will happily do this for you, but I couldn’t do that” - then we put in place a limitation
- “Lord, please let me know what you want me to do, and I will do it if I can” - then we leave ourselves a loop-hole.
And by so doing we are revealing those things that we value more than God; in effect, they are false gods!
We are very good at setting limits on what we will allow God to do! Sometimes we are directly disobedient, and will not obey what we know is right, but much more often we simply and subtly put in place provisos, limitations, or loop-holes in what we are prepared to do for God. Frequently these sound very good, even ‘Christian’, and much less blatant than the examples above.
For example, I am fairly new working in my current work place, which is a mission counselling centre, and am about to take a leadership role there. So, here are some of the things that I want for this job:
- I want our centre to be successful in supporting people who are going through difficult times
- I want our centre to be an example of what good missionary care looks like
- I want us to contribute to the mission of supporting those who are in the front line of sharing the gospel to those who have not yet heard
- And I want to be a good team leader
These are some of the things I care about - and there is nothing wrong with them. Except that God is a jealous God, and He is not really interested in my ideas, but He is interested in whether I am open and obedient to His plans!
If I am just concerned about what I want, it leads me to praying like this:
- Lord, please help us to be successful in supporting missionaries
- Lord, please make us an example of what good missionary care looks like
- Lord, please make me a good team leader
- etc.
And these prayers all centre around asking God to do my will! I need to tear down these good ideas of mine, these altars in my heart. For God is a jealous God and He will not stand for things that I love more than Him.
Like God testing Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, God requires us to let go of the very things we love the most.
For it is only when we lay down our good ideas, and the limits we try to place on God, that God will show us His perfect way forward. God will not guide us while we set limits, or if we are just going to consider His leading! Our ideas may be ‘good’, but they are not as good as God’s perfect plan!
God is a jealous God, but He is also utterly loving - His desire is not to thwart us, but to bless us!
When we set limits, we are probably trying to protect ourselves – after all, I am frequently afraid that God will ask me to do something that is too difficult. But God’s purpose is not to curse us, but to bless us! He wants nothing but the absolute best for us – as individuals, couples, as families, and as Christian organisations. He really does not want us to have second best by going after some other goal or god, however good they may look, when we can be truly safe and totally blessed by following wherever He leads us!
So, next time we face some decision, or seek God’s guidance for the way forward, remember that God does not want us to experience anything less good, less safe, less perfect, than He has planned for us. We are to say to Him, "Show me what to do and where to go, and I will do it; I put no restrictions in place. The things I care most deeply about, even if they are good, I will put them aside to follow wherever you lead."
For God is a jealous, and absolutely loving, God.
Do you remember all those times you said "yes" to some request for help, without really stopping and thinking about it much? And then later got annoyed that you were committed to doing this thing, or found yourself ending up being much too busy?
It is said that 'If you want something done, ask a busy person'. You know how there are some people who seem to be involved in lots of things, and others who don't seem to get involved at all? Well, if you are the former, this post is for you. Let's take a closer look at the thinking and motives that may be going on here.
As a Christian I should say 'yes'
Maybe you feel that as a Christian you should be helping out, even when you don't really feel like it? After all, this is about putting others' needs before our own, isn't it?
Well, God certainly calls us to work for him, and this may well include ways that aren't high on our personal list of preferences, or that involve real sacrificial service. But this also means that there are things he does not call us to do. This isn't simply to say that God calls us to do good and not evil (though that is true), but that there are good things he is not calling me to do - for he has different, individually tailored, work for each person who will follow him.
There are only 24 hours in a day, and they need to be used fully in the ways God has commanded - which includes his command to rest and to take time with him... We certainly can't do everything, and God doesn't call us to do so! So what is he calling us to do, and what is he calling others to do?
Somebody's got to do it
But if God has not called you to such work, why are you doing it? It might be because you've got hooked by the notion that someone's got to do this thing, and if no-one else is, then it better be you.
But actually, it might be that God actually doesn't need that particular thing done, and so no-one doing it really is the best outcome. Alternatively, it may be that someone else should be getting off their backside to do what God has called them to.
So, it may also be that while you are doing these things that God hasn't called you to do, you are robbing someone else of that role which is theirs! Perhaps they remain one of the people in the background because you are always there in front, getting in the way?
Moreover, if you are busy doing something you are not called to, then you are not getting on with what he has called you to ...
It would look bad if I said no / it would look good if I said yes
Umm. I thought that pride would turn up somewhere in this topic.
There's a real need
Does a need constitute a call? I think not. There are so many needs and we cannot possibly respond to them all. Some are easy to say 'no' to, as we clearly don't have the required skills or resources; but when we could do something, does that mean we are called?
So when we helpfully, or out of a sense of Christian duty, always say 'yes', then we are spending time not doing what God has called us to do. The devil is very keen to keep us busy doing all sorts of good things, just so long as they are not what God has called us to do.
Our thinking and motives for saying 'yes' or 'no' are always complex and mixed; pride and fear are bound to be in there somewhere. So perhaps, rather than simply saying "yes", or by starting from the point of considering whether the task needs to be done, we would do better to start by asking God, "Are you calling me to do this?"
Of course, the question arises: "How do I know what God is calling me to do?". The answer lies in a close and personal walk with Jesus - which will almost certainly be squeezed out if you are always saying 'yes' to everything else...
