From the journal . . . . October 2008

I was reading in Isaiah and came across this verse.

Isaiah 7:10-12 ¹⁰ Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.^[a]” ¹² But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.” 

And I summarized the passage in my journal.

The Lord speaks to King Ahaz of Judah.  He is speaking thru Isaiah, and He says, “Ask for a sign.  Something impossible so You will know that I will crush Your enemies, like I promised.”

But Ahaz doesn’t want to and says, “I wouldn’t test the Lord like that.”  Ahaz is good, but maybe his faith is a little weak.  Maybe he isn’t sure Isaiah speaks the words of God.  Whatever the case, he doesn’t want to ‘test’ the Lord.  But if the Lord is telling him to, he should just get over himself and do it.

And I Believe the Lord Said:

Belief pleases me.  Faith pleases me.  Obedience pleases me. * All three are connected, but not the same.             

Belief:
John 5:24  “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. 
John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
 
 Faith:
Hebrews 11:6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
 
Obedience:
1Samuel 15:22But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

Belief has to do with facts:  Do you believe what I’m saying is true? It has more to do with your mind.                  

Faith has more to do with feelings and spirit: You have faith in what you don’t see because of what you have seen or believed.  It also has to do with hope and what you have not seen.       

Obedience deals with the physical and the will.  Because of your belief and faith, you will act on it. Ahaz couldn’t act on this.

Just the other day I believe the Lord told me that I was the one with ‘religious routines’ and they cause me to lose my focus sometimes.  It reminded me of a song we sing in our worship service that says

“ Shake up the ground of all my tradition. Break down the walls of all my religion. Your way is better. Your way is better.” *

*Make Room    Community Music 2019

There are times when our own ideas of following God get in His way! Maybe like King Ahaz.