As christians, it is important for us to understand that God has all the authority over us. Our relationship with Him is based on our ability to understand His word, believe in and implement it. This activates the miracles that we seldom wait for. It is easy to quote scriptures, but fail to undergo any transformation through its power. Ultimately obedience to scripture allows us to become true children of God.The parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-13 exemplifies the fact that what you do with the word determines the outcome and how it impacts your life.
In the parable, the seed that the farmer scattered was the consistent, but the type of soil it fell on was different. It yielded different results based on where it fell. As such, if we do not take the time to understand the word and allow it to transform our lives, we ourselves inhibit its transformational power. The bible teaches that not doing the will of God is basically doing the will of the devil. A true christian will listen to God the Father and subsequently earn the right to be called a child of God. You see, our faith is tied to our ability to continue to believe in God. If Psalms 23:6 teaches us that His goodness and love will be with us for as long as we shall live, even if we go through times of peril, then a lack of faith will allow the circumstances of our situations to hinder our walk with God.
Living by what we can see with the naked eye can prevent us from living by faith. How? Well, if we perceive the challenge in front of us to be bigger than what we can handle we become overwhelmed and intimidated by what we see rather than walking with God by faith. During the time of Passover, when Jesus spoke of bread and wine being a representation of His body and His blood, In order for the disciples to truly comprehend this, they needed to have a deeper level of understanding that went beyond what they could see by sight alone. By faith we are driven to deeper levels of christian understanding. Sight limits the full capability of God. God is much greater that what our eyes can see. Isaac is a great example that having faith in God’s words produces an abundance (Genesis 26:1-6, 12-14).
Through human understanding, his decision to stay in Egypt during a drought would have seemed foolish and impossible. But God is able to do much greater things than we can fathom. A fruitful harvest was hidden behind God’s instruction to Isaac to sow in the dry ground that required Isaac’s obedience and faith to receive it. There are many blessings hidden in God’s words that we are sometimes unable to attain because what God requires us to do first does not always make logical sense in our eyes so we end up not doing it. God has promised so much in your life, yet you allow what you perceive by sight to hinder your obedience to the condition given because on face value, it seems illogical. Is God not the owner of everything? Does He not speak things into existence? Therefore faith in His spoken word is vital. Abraham is known as a man who lived his life by faith.
By obeying the command to leave his fathers house for the unknown he unlocked his first blessings. Again in Genesis 22:1-18, Abraham prepared himself wholeheartedly to sacrifice his much loved son who had so long been promised to him. It was the ultimate test to reveal the level of obedience that he had to God. Out of that sacrifice came even more blessings for him. So often a time, blessings await beyond the immediate challenge. The instruction may not initially make sense, but be assured that it will activate God’s intended blessing for you. Acts 13:22 – Our heart is a game changer in the things of God. It goes beyond our human logic and rational. David is described as a mighty man that sought after God’s own heart because he was in tune with God’s instruction despite his many shortcomings and acts of disobedience. David had a true understanding of God. So much so, that at a time when he had the opportunity to kill his persecutor Saul, he refrained where others would have acted. Why? Because David understood, despite circumstance, not to touch an anointed man.
As a christian you need to take stock of what draws you to God. Some things will “pull: us to God, while others will “push” us to God. But these are two very different things. David was pulled to God and sought to follow God’s instruction. In your own worship you need to think about the factors that are pulling you to God against those that push you to worship? The pull factor is what attracts you to come to God like a magnet. These are an indication of your understanding of your duty as a man in terms of your worship. It is what pulls you to seek to understand God as the maker of heaven and earth. Whereas the push factor is what you are running away from. It is the need or lack that drives you to Him as a means to a solution to resolve the challenge you are facing. Your reason to come to God ends up being centred around your needs and not about God. When you get what you want, you then focus more on your fulfilment rather than the one that provided it. Therefore our interaction with the things of God differs between what pulls us and what pushes us to Him.
In conclusion, remember pull factors include seeking God because you know who He is, you understand His authority over your life, you know your position as His child and work hard to follow His word. Whereas push factors include seeking God for what we can acquire and achieve, as well as challenges we need rectified. Your focus is pursuing God in order to fulfil your needs. It comes from a place of selfishness instead of worshiping simply because God is God. Today, be encouraged to reflect on what pushes you and what pulls you to worship God. List both factors noting down what falls into each category.The purpose of a human is to seek God whether we have everything or nothing at all. Lack should not hinder our worship. We are meant to give everything to Him when we come to Him. If we remain within the limits of our human ways, we will be unable to fully grasp God spiritually. Let your understanding be elevated to a deeper spiritual level as you continually dwell in God’s presence.