Praise the Lord, my friend

When we read the above verse, it can sound like the Word of God is saying:

“Do what is right and good, and good things will happen to you.”

But we also need to remember who these words were spoken to.

Moses was speaking to the Israelites, and God had promised them a land.

So there was a specific promise connected to their obedience.

But my friend, when we do what is right, should we do it because we expect something good from God in return?

You see, Jesus connects our obedience to our love for Him, my friend.

But sometimes, without even realising it, we can start connecting our obedience to getting something good from God.

This actually happened to me this morning.

I was not in a good mood, and I was about to let my anger control me.

But then I had a thought that I should not do it, so I stopped myself. (Tbh it wasn’t that simple 😅)

And then I had another thought out of nowhere.

“I did the right thing, so God will make something good happen for me now.”

And that's one of the reasons I'm writing this issue today.

I don't think we always realise when we start thinking this way while just living our busy lives.

We can do something simply because God has asked us to do it.

But then somewhere along the way, we can start expecting something from Him because we did it.

Of course, God takes care of His children, and He can bless us tremendously.

Jesus tells us this in Matthew 6:33

So yes, God will take care of us and bless us.

But our reason for obeying Him should not be what we think He will give us in return.

And, my friend, thoughts like the one I had this morning can come to our minds.

We cannot always control the first thought that comes, but when it does, let us run back to God and remember why we are doing what is right in the first place.

Let us just love Him and do what He has asked us to do, my friend, without keeping one eye on what we might get from Him.

May He speak to us and His will be done in our lives.

We don’t know what will happen if we share the above video, but God knows, my friend.

So let us share it with a prayer.

Let’s Pray

Dear Father God,

You know our hearts better than we do.

The thoughts that come into our minds and the reasons behind the things we do.

Please help us when we start expecting something from You because we have done the right thing.

When those thoughts come, help us run back to You and remember that we obey You because we love You.

Father, I pray for my friend reading this right now. If they are struggling with this in any way, please help them understand their own heart and bring them closer to You.

Help them love You for who You are and not only for what You can give them.

And Father, please help us keep choosing what is right even when we are not expecting anything in return.

As we share the above post, let it reach the right person and plant that little seed of curiosity in their minds. Please use our one share for your glory.

In Jesus’ name, we pray

Amen.