Yeah, But…

Introduction to the Devout Life Part 1 Chapter 1 – What True Devotion Is
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1

True and false religion are not always so easily seen. Isaiah addressed it in the fasts, James in defining pure and undefiled religion. God has opened up Himself to us through His Holy Spirit and yet with relationship well within reach we settle for the appearances or the phantasms of devotion. My question always seems to come back to, ‘why?’ If God’s will on a matter is known, why wrestle with God’s will? Is it not a matter of hidden rebellion and idolatry in the heart than it is an unknowing?

Jas 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

I find Jeremiah in conversation with the Lord. The Lord speaks of His intimate knowledge of him and Jeremiah to my amazement begins his response by correcting God’s knowledge! I wonder why that is? I often say I’d like a burning bush, in reality though that didn’t do much for Moses accepting God’s instruction at face value. Would I be any different? I find that a challenge in my own devotional time when the Lord speaks to me. Amazing how I want to affix ‘yeah, but…’ to my calling and ministry. I am in conversations now with one who is wrestling with God’s will on a matter. This person knows God’s will but is content with affixing, ‘yeah, but’ to it. Jeremiah gave a ‘yeah, but’ to the Lord and the Lord called him on it.

The immature believer is content to fall on God’s mercy and grace never growing beyond the ‘yeah, but’ and they are ever learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. They are stuck and stunted in their experience with God, often looking at others experiences with God thru jealous or envious eyes. Desiring greatly a true devotional life, but barely settling for just a 20 minute run thru of a reading and prayer as convenient. How sad it is that we have to find a way to make God convenient to our lives and squeeze Him in as if He were another appointment. How great a blessing we throw away and how great a relationship we trample under foot because we don’t reverse the order! God is not an inconvenience to our day and intruder in our lives He IS our day and IS our life! What practical idols we set up for ourselves and let it have greater priority over the Creator of the Universe!

Next are the more mature who can have spurts of flight – these will go about life doing what is expected of them. God may call them to ministry, but in the attitude and performance of that ministry is constant complaining and murmuring over mundane tasks which ought to be an out right joy for them because it is a Holy calling.

The mature walk in the joy of their calling from God. They do for the Lord because it brings them joy to do for the Lord. In that they are happy, at peace and would rather do nothing else. They don’t ask for a burning bush they are willing to find the Will of God and flow in His Spirit to accomplish God’s will. These hardly have to think about it – it just unfolds in front of them. These have no weights of ministry bending their backs, but have a super natural drive that gives them strength to carry on even when the body is crying for rest. These embrace seeing their life being poured out as a love offering to their Lord.

Lord, I pray that this day I would find the path You would set me upon that would lead me to a greater closeness and nearness to You that the things of this would would be dimmed and my love for You would grow beyond all I could have imagined and that there would be no one or any thing that would be a barrier to finding true devotion to You.