Wholehearted Obedience

Numbers 32:11‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. 12The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’ NLT

It is an easy thing to know God's will and then because it seems so difficult, to begin to reason within ourself and stop short of what these verses call  obeying "wholeheartedly".  A part of the definition of this word is "to take a hand full or to have wholly".  The Lord wants all of us in order to get us to a place where He can expect us to give Him our all.  Partial obedience is disobedience!  The Scripture is filled with examples of partial obedience and the resulting fruit is loss or defeat.  We must continue to remind ourself that God is a God of faith and obedience.  We actually prove our faith by our obedience and not by our sermons or talk.  As a matter of fact, it is a very dangerous thing to say we are committed to a certain level and then stop short of fulfilling that verbal vow. (Acts 5:1-10) The least of our loss is the loss in that particular area of involvement.  From the moment that we back away from a level of commitment that the Lord has called us to make, from that moment our lives begin to disintegrate.  We are a covenant of faith people serving a covenant keeping God.  To put it in math terms, 2+2=4.  In the realm of partial obedience, 2+2=0.  There is always a loss when we take a way out that is less than required by God.  However, when we obey God wholeheartedly, 2+2=8 or more.  There is a multiplication of blessing that comes upon those who obey the Lord without reservation. 

Let's examine our lives today and ask Him if there are any areas where we have taken the easy way out.  The easy way always says to God, "I don't trust you to bring me through this situation and therefore I must try to fix it myself."  If you have compromised your obedience, pause now and ask for forgiveness and get back on track to Wholehearted Obedience!