DAY 20 Obedience

BE STILL Spend 2 minutes in stillness and silence with God

SCRIPTURE 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-10

DEVOTION

I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned it’s hard to surrender something without obedience. This is the second component of stewardship, and it goes hand in hand with the first. We talked yesterday about how God holds the copyright, Jesus mediated the contract, and Holy Spirit (among other methods of communication) helps us under- stand the terms of use. Unlike earthly copyright licenses, our heavenly agreement will never expire. However, there are times when the terms of use adjust. During these times, obedience is what helps us continue to properly steward what we have been given.

Think about the seasons. As they change, the way we interact with our environment changes too. During the winter we may be jacket-wearing, ice skating, and hot chocolate drinking people, but that shifts as it gets warmer outside. We may shift to wearing short sleeved shirts and shorts, having picnic dates with friends, or eating colder foods because hot soup in the Summer is absurd (it’s okay if you do this, you are still loved).

No matter what season it is, it's highly unlikely that we will live our lives the same way we did the season before. This same concept happens with the seasons of our lives. Obedience twirls itself in when God tells us the season has changed even if we don’t see it. As a result of the season changing, He gives us our new terms of use with what He has placed in our hands. Does He want us to use our gifts in a different area this season? Change our methods of rest? Switch up our morning or evening routines?

Let's not forget that He may not adjust the terms of use for what we do, but He may adjust them for the quantity at which we do a thing. This may look like Him asking us to increase our quiet time with Him, put more money into savings, or spend less time with a person for the season. Whatever way He chooses to adjust the terms of use, our acts of obedience help us to remain good stewards of what we've been given.

Obedience can be difficult, especially when we don't know how things will play out. If we change our perspective, we'll realize this is the beauty of following God - we don’t know the end result and we don’t have to.

Has God changed the "terms of use" of anything you are a steward over recently?

Write down anything that makes it difficult for you to follow through with what God asks of you in relation to stewardship.

PRAY IT OUT

Lord, you order my steps and I am grateful that You are delighted when I follow Your paths. I know that Your thoughts are not my thoughts, and Your ways are not my ways. There are times when You adjust how You want me to steward something, and I admit I may not always be quick to act. I sometimes find it difficult to adjust to Your new set of instructions because of [what makes it difficult for you].

Today I choose to trust in You with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. I will seek You and Your strength to help me move in obedience. As I do, God I ask that You uphold my steps as I walk on the paths You have set for me. Do not let my feet slip. Thank You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen