Obedience Without Expectations

Part of living by faith is letting go of MY expectations. 

 Our pastor talked this weekend about obedience and when we attach expectation it's not really obedience. It's obedience with conditions and that is not the obedience God is looking for. 

 He is looking for our hearts not our checked off obedience list.

 OUCH!!!! 

 Let's just say I sat through 3 services of that message and I had to endure strong conviction with every one. 

The Lord knew I needed to hear it over and over to let it sink in.

I am not going to confess over blog world how I have miserably failed at this, but I am going to add what God has continued to teach me through this message and through some events going on in my life. 

Hebrews 12:1-3English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Part of running the race He set before us is to run until He comes back or we go home to be with Him. 

 I often want to set a limit to how many miles I will go.  I just want to know what I have ahead of me.  I want to KNOW how much further and what the course is going to be like.

When I have ran in marathons......I get tired and pretty soon my entire focus becomes how many miles I have to go before it is

O.V.E.R.

  I have this weird oxygen deprived sickness that hits my brain every single time and when I hit a mile marker it takes me the entire next mile to figure out if that mile marker meant I HAD ALREADY completed 20 miles or if I was CURRENTLY running mile 20 and then I see mile marker 21 and the whole thing starts all over again. 

 It happens every time and goes on for the next 6 miles.

  I also have been in labor a few times and seen other women in labor and there is something about that "number" the Dr. announces when he checks.  Because you know the magic number is 10, it's like all the focus is on the number.  Of course you don't know if the next 3 numbers are going to take 3 minutes or 3 hours or 3 days, but you can either be encouraged or discouraged based on the number.

To live in obedience I believe we just need to take things as they come and be faithful to what He gives us every single time for as long as HE gives us.

I think it's interesting that the verse following the one above that talks about "running the race," the very next one talks about "not growing weary".

Hebrews 12:3English Standard Version (ESV)

Do Not Grow Weary

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

What if........we just ran until the race was over or  labored until delivered.