{"id":6152,"date":"2012-01-30T06:08:05","date_gmt":"2012-01-30T14:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wordpress\/?p=6152"},"modified":"2012-01-30T07:02:57","modified_gmt":"2012-01-30T15:02:57","slug":"the-dilemma-of-obedience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=6152","title":{"rendered":"The Dilemma of Obedience"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision \u20141 Samuel 3:15<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"post-1071\">\n<div>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/g02mOpdNDtY\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"575\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nGod never speaks to us in dramatic ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand. Then we say, \u201cI wonder if that is God\u2019s voice?\u201d Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him \u201cwith a strong hand,\u201d that is, by the pressure of his circumstances (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Isaiah+8:11\">Isaiah 8:11<\/a>). Without the sovereign hand of God Himself, nothing touches our lives. Do we discern His hand at work, or do we see things as mere occurrences?Get into the habit of saying, \u201cSpeak, Lord,\u201d and life will become a romance (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+Samuel+3:9\">1 Samuel 3:9<\/a>). Every time circumstances press in on you, say, \u201cSpeak, Lord,\u201d and make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline\u2014 it is meant to bring me to the point of saying, \u201cSpeak, Lord.\u201d Think back to a time when God spoke to you. Do you remember what He said? Was it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke+11:13\">Luke 11:13<\/a> , or was it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+Thessalonians+5:23\">1 Thessalonians 5:23<\/a>? As we listen, our ears become more sensitive, and like Jesus, we will hear God all the time.Should I tell my \u201cEli\u201d what God has shown to me? This is where the dilemma of obedience hits us. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences and thinking, \u201cI must shield \u2019Eli,\u2019 \u201d who represents the best people we know. God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli\u2014 he had to decide that for himself. God\u2019s message to you may hurt your \u201cEli,\u201d but trying to prevent suffering in another\u2019s life will prove to be an obstruction between your soul and God. It is at your own risk that you prevent someone\u2019s right hand being cut off or right eye being plucked out (see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+5:29-30\">Matthew 5:29-30<\/a>).Never ask another person\u2019s advice about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask advice, you will almost always side with Satan. \u201c. . . I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood . . .\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Galatians+1:16\">Galatians 1:16<\/a>).<\/div>\n<div>____________________________________________<\/div>\n<p>January 30, 2012<\/p>\n<p>Journal for Today-JDV<\/p>\n<p>Lord, sometimes I wonder if it is your voice that I hear, or\u00a0 my own. Is it your leading or my own mind taking me where I think I ought to\u00a0 go? God I don\u2019t want to hear my own voice, or the voice of the pastor or my brothers,\u00a0 I want to hear Your voice and know it is You. When I know it is You I know I\u00a0 can be obedient. Please help me discern the sound of Your voice.<\/p>\n<p><em>And God says\u2026\u201dYou will\u00a0 learn to discern My voice among all the others calling you, when you are\u00a0 obedient and practiced at hearing My voice.\u00a0 Listen for Me all day long, and you will know the sound of My voice.\u00a0 Search for Me and you will find Me throughout your day. I am right beside you\u00a0 and you find Me right\u00a0inside of your obedience and listening.\u00a0However, knowing it is My voice\u00a0has not\u00a0 historically guaranteed your obedience. Are you\u00a0obedient to my every word in the Bible?\u00a0Your obedience, your ability to obey\u00a0comes from being connected to Me and responding\u00a0to every word and call. The more you are conformed into obedience, the greater your propensity and ability\u00a0to hear and obey&#8230;&#8221;the next time&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0&#8220;Seek and you shall find,\u00a0 knock and the door will be open, search and you will find. All those that\u00a0 search for Me find Me, and most of the time you will\u00a0find Me right at the point of\u00a0 your need as the result of your trust and\u00a0obedience.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision \u20141 Samuel 3:15 &nbsp; God never speaks to us in dramatic ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand. Then we say, \u201cI wonder if that is God\u2019s voice?\u201d Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him \u201cwith a strong hand,\u201d that is, by the pressure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6152"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6152"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6164,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6152\/revisions\/6164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}