Obedience... I Can, but Will I?

So I've been thinking alot about obedience lately...  It seems to be a recurrent theme with me as of late.  I can't say I am really excelling or overcoming much, but I can feel God's persistence with me like I'm about to be pushed off of something/into something... or maybe it will end up being a jump... not completely sure at the moment.


I read an article in The Sabbath Sentinel this morning entitled "I Can, but Will I?" by Bryant Buck.  I couldn't find a link online, so here is a relatively small excerpt:

     Both the Old and the New Testaments are full of miracles, so why shouldn't we as believers in Christ experience our share of miracles too?  However, in the context of Philippians 4, I don't believe that miracles were the apostle Paul's primary focus.

     In Philippians 4:4 Paul exhorts us to rejoice; in verse 6 he encourages us to pray and give thanks.  Then, in verse 8 he instructs us to focus our thinking on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.  Moreover, just before Paul declares that he can do all things through Christ, he testifies: "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (Philippians 4:12).  Paul's focus in this chapter is clearly on both how we behave and how we think.  If our behavior truly becomes Christlike, then we will be a miracle that others can see.

     Let's put this another way: If I can do all things through Messiah, do I rejoice?  More than that, do I rejoice always?  If I can do all things through Messiah, do I pray?  More than that, do I pray with thanksgiving?  Do I give thanks at all, or do I only give thanks occasionally?  If I can do all things through Messiah, what do I think about---things that are true, honest, and just?  Things that are pure, lovely, and of good report?  Or, do I think about things that are false, dishonest, and unjust?  Do I think about things that are impure, ugly, and of bad report?

I wish you could read the whole thing... it really is a very good article and goes along with what I've been thinking about.  I sucked big time this week.  I even threw a little temper tantrum over something stupid and shut down my blog.  I made the decision before God to put walls up again out of rebellion.  Well, little did I realize that with my decision came a decision from God as well.  He decided that if I was going to put walls up to keep people out, that He would stay out too.  It was only a few days, but I swear that there was no talking to God during that time for me last week.  He wasn't listening.  He wasn't answering.  It was just me and the consequences of my disobedience.  Isolation.  Call it a "divine time-out."  It was Crap, let me tell ya...  Not fun at all.  Definitely not something I want to do again anytime soon.

Sometimes I forget just how big God is.  Sometimes I lose sight of just how important it is to listen and obey because all the things around me: circumstances, worries, fears, perceptions, are just in my face all the time; they're so loud and commanding... And rather than just making the decision to take each of those thoughts captive and turning my focus around from Me to Him... I am choosing to follow my own line of thoughts and dwell on things that are not what I know to be "true, honest, just..."

I'm really glad it didn't take long to feel the consequence of isolation.  I would love to someday be able to catch it before the foolishness starts in the first place.  I guess I already CAN.  I just need to decide, WILL I?