My son Kenny likes to earn extra money toward whatever he is saving up for at the time. He also likes earning extra media time (since we limit the kids’ “free” media time). Fortunately for him, he is willing to work in order to do this. So when he wants money or minutes, he comes to me or my husband and asks for extra chores to do.
This particular time, Kenny accepted the chore of taking out the trash. He tied the old bag and took it outside to the garbage bin. Then he put a new bag in the inside bin and stretched the top of the bag around the top of the bin, as my husband had showed him how to do the previous time.
Proudly, he showed off the results. “Look! I did it!” he exclaimed.
“Great job, Kenny,” my husband said.
Kenny said matter-of-factly, “I was just following your training.”
It really is as simple as that. Daddy trains you, you follow his training, and you have success. I’m not talking about trash bags alone, but about everything in life. And I’m not talking about our earthly daddy, but our heavenly one.
God has provided plenty of clear training for us in the Bible. Love God more than anyone or anything else, and love the people around you as much as you love yourself.
That pretty much covers it, He says. But then He gives us more specifics. Honor your parents. Don’t steal. Go the extra mile. Be willing to serve.
Unfortunately, we often don’t take His instructions seriously. We know we should follow them, but when life crops up, we act like we believe our own strategies will bring us better success and more satisfaction than God’s. Why on earth we would ever think this is not reasonable or rational, but we do. I do. Maybe you have too. When circumstances get difficult, we jettison our training and go our own way, little realizing that difficult moments are perhaps when we most need to follow our training. In fact, it was designed to help us navigate those difficult moments.
Do we really think that God’s ways are less effective than ours? Sometimes, yes. At least our actions show that we do. Do we really think God doesn’t know what He’s doing? We’d probably never put it that way, but sometimes…yes.
I guarantee you that God, who created the universe and everything in it, knows far better how to run His universe than you or I do. He knows infinitely better than we the things that will cause our lives to run smoothly.
Is there some area today, right now, where you’re going your own way instead of God’s? Maybe you’re nagging your husband instead of respecting him like the Bible tells us to do. Maybe you’re too harsh with your kids, provoking them to wrath, like Scripture tells us not to do. Maybe your disobedience consists of an unsubmissive attitude or outright, conscious refusal to obey. Whatever way you’ve found around God’s commands, I guarantee you that things are not working out better for you right now than they would be if you were to obey God. Your husband is not more responsive to your needs than He would be under God’s plan, your children are not better behaved than they would be, and your disobedience is not bringing you more satisfaction than you would have otherwise. If you have fallen for these lies, the devil has you right where he wants you.
Make sure your ideas line up with God’s. If they don’t, it’s not His ideas that are mistaken.
When you follow your Daddy’s training, things always work out better.
Joshua 1:8—This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.