Instant Cereal and Subway Cars
Thursday, December 29, 2022
“Obedience is required at the time God gives you an instruction.” – Os Hillman
Partial obedience is disobedience. So is delayed obedience. I guess that’s why Joseph is my favorite character of the Christmas story.
Three times an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and delivered an order from God. The first time, the angel told Joseph to take Mary as his wife even though she was already pregnant. Joseph’s response, recorded in Matthew 1:24, was as follows: “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife.”
Later, when Jesus was an infant, an angel appeared to Joseph and warned him to take his small family to Egypt because King Herod was trying to kill Jesus. “When he [Joseph] arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14). Did you catch that? Joseph didn’t even wait until daybreak to gather up Mary and Jesus and head south. He did it the moment he woke up… in the middle of the night.
The last example of his instant obedience (see Matthew 2:21) was when an angel told Joseph that Herod was dead and therefore, it was safe to return to Israel. Once again, Joseph obeyed God’s command without hesitation or delay.
These days, thanks to advances in technology, we get irritated if our computer doesn’t run at warp speed or if our cellphone call doesn’t go through right away. Likewise, we watch impatiently for our instant cereal to cook in the microwave or the subway car to arrive at our stop. But if God tells us to do something, all too often we treat it like a suggestion instead of a command by weighing the pros and cons and considering our options.
Truth be told, there are only two options: obey God immediately and without question… or disobey Him by delaying our response. The choice is ours.
“Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.” I Samuel 3:10 (NKJV)
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” I Samuel 15:22 (NKJV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
