Isaiah 1:19

Dan & Claire Maudhub

I have the huge privilege (some would say nightmare) of preaching in many different environments and whenever I am preparing for this, it is always easy to preach a message that people want to hear; it is easy to talk about the promises of God and of His goodness and kindness. All of this is absolutely true, but it is also true that walking in the promises of God are often conditional.

Our natural tendency is to want God's promises - but on our terms. We want the fullness of God but we want to live life our way. God has given us these incredible promises, but more often than not they are released as we walk in His principles.

Throughout the Bible, God's promises to His people are often conditional on their willingness and their obedience; he wants our willing hearts to obey his principles and statutes. This flies in the face of our fleshly nature which wants to do what we please, being obedient to our emotions and desires - and yet we want the blessings of God to flow in our lives.

One of the greatest examples of this is in the Israelites' relationship with God. They knew the promise of God was for their release from captivity into the Promised Land and God's abundance. Yet, at times they were neither willing nor obedient. They worshipped Baal and other gods, became ungrateful and rebellious and ultimately a whole generation of Israelites missed out on the fullness of God's promise.

A young man named Joshua understood how to walk in the fullness of God. He learnt obedience from Moses. He was obedient to the call to enter and scout out the Promised Land and he was certainly willing to embrace all God had for him and to do it according to God's way.

Are you willing and obedient to walk in Gods principles and do things His way? My encouragement for you today if you want to walk in the fullness of God, then learn to walk as a willing and obedient child of God, ready to embrace His principles, through His word and those around you to teach and show you the way.

If you don't know how to walk obediently and to foster in yourself a willing heart, then find yourself a Moses. Find someone who can teach you the ways of God and help to bring His order in your life. The word is the foundation for learning God's ways and the more time you spend finding out God's truth, the more you will learn willingness and obedience. Finally, if you want the fullness that Joshua experienced, then you have to be prepared to set out in faith and be prepared to do things God's way.

Be blessed.