Obedience

Will what is happening today, lead me to where I want to be tomorrow?

Does God provide comfort in unprecedented times?

Matthew 6:26

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?

Luke 12:7

And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So, don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

How does God provide comfort in unprecedented times?

Psalm 132: 1-8

Lord, remember David and all that he suffered. He made a solemn promise to the Lord . . .“I will not go home; I will not let myself rest. I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber 5 until I find a place to build a house for the Lord . . . Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of his throne.  Arise, O Lord, and enter your resting place, along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.

Comfort found in faithful obedience.

"A Christian who has David in his bones, Jeremiah in his bloodstream, Paul in his fingerprints and Christ in his heart will know how much and how little value to put on his own momentary feelings and the experience of this past week."

- Eugene Petersen

Psalm 132: 11-17

The Lord swore an oath to David with a promise he will never take back: For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem; he has desired it for his home. “This is my resting place forever,” he said. “I will live here, for this is the home I desired. I will bless this city and make it prosperous; I will satisfy its poor with food. I will clothe its priests with godliness; its faithful servants will sing for joy. . . . my anointed one will be a light for my people.

Comfort found in faithful obedience.

Comfort found in future obedience.

“The essential thing in ‘heaven and earth’ is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Luke 19:30–31

“Go into that village over there . . . As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Luke 19:38–40

“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

Luke 22:42

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me”

John 6:38

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

Luke 22:42

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Luke 23:46

 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.