Ancient Words For Today - 76
We are benefited by obedience to God's commandments and by seeking to know and doing His will. These actions result in a clear conscience before God and man, bring glory to God through our words and deeds, and help us to make the best possible use of our days as God orders and directs our steps. God has given us His Holy Word (which we learn by studying the Bible) and His Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and empower us that we might live righteously and be spiritually prosperous. As we follow His precepts and leading, we have peace with God and will experience His transforming power as He continually fashions us to become more Christ-like in our thoughts, words and actions.
God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, told the people of Israel they were not experiencing His blessings of peace, righteousness and prosperity because they were not following His leading and had failed to kept His commandments:
Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Isaiah 48:16-18
To avoid making the same mistakes the people of Israel did, we each must carefully examine ourselves and humbly ask God to show us if we have been disobeying, ignoring or rationalizing our departure from His guidelines or His specific plan for our life. If we are guilty, we need to admit our sin and ask for God's forgiveness and help to change our way of living. Continuing to walk contrary to God's instruction dampens our desire to pray and leads to loss of fellowship with Him. It will also cause us to drift away from studying the Bible and church attendance, and avoid the company of fellow believers who, in love, would admonish and exhort us to forsake our wrongful behavior and turn back to following God's leading and plan for our life. If and when you find yourself in that place, there is only one remedy: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
God has given us His statutes to follow for our own good: so keep His commandments and you will enjoy peace like a river and righteousness as the waves of the sea! Follow after His specific plan for your life and you will be eternally blessed!