This Won’t Hurt!
Today’s Verse:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. ~1 John 5:3
Little children can sometimes be scared to go to a dentist's or doctor’s office, especially the first time. If their finger needs to be pricked for a blood draw or an inoculation needs to be done, the doctor or nurse will always say, “It’s okay, this won’t hurt.” He is trying to assure a scared and anxious child that what is being done to him is not bad and that it is not meant to cause him great bodily pain. Our devotion this morning centers on God’s commandments and how they are meant for our good.
There is the essential of God’s commandments.
The commandments of God are essential to govern and guide us in our behavior both to God and man. Our sinful nature has too much of a tendency to go away from God and be disobedient. The psalmist David said, “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” The commandments help us to see proper conduct from the eyes of God.
There is the expectation in God’s commandments.
Before we were saved, our nature was lawless and rebellious. Once you get saved, the seed of the new nature is implanted within you. The Holy Spirit makes His residence within you. Your tendency is transformed to love God and keep His commandments. It is expected that we want to know where God has placed boundaries and blessings and that we delight ourselves in doing what He says we should do.
There is the execution of God’s commandments.
The commandments of God are to be lived out in our life. The Great Commandment demands that we love God with our entire being. The Second Great Commandment demands that we love our neighbor as ourselves. The New Commandment is that we love the brethren even as Christ loved us. The Great Commission demands that we take the gospel message to every sinner and work at seeing people saved and then brought into a growing relationship with the Lord.
There is the excellence of God’s commandments.
They are not grievous! They are not given to hurt us. They are given for our benefit. They are designed to keep us from falling into a pit that we cannot see or a snare that is subtly set in our path. They are designed to keep us in God’s will. They are not hard to understand. They are not hard to obey. They are not given to set us up for failure but, rather, for victory and true success.
There is the enrichment from God’s commandments.
“Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments” (Psalm 112:1). God enriches the man who loves His commandments. In fact, this man is modeled as a man who has true happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment because he has chosen to walk in all the ways of the Lord. He cannot think of anything that he enjoys more than walking in the commandments of the Lord. He is like Job who feared God and eschewed evil.
What has been your take on God’s commandments? Have they been grievous to you? Is it because there is a streak of rebellion in you or an area of your life that you are having a difficult time giving to the Lord? Why not get back in love with the Lord this morning and delight yourself greatly in His commandments?
Have an obedient God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Joshua 9-11