"2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him." -Romans 12:2-3 MSG
Habit of Recognizing and Responding
God can't tell us what he wants from us if we aren’t willing to listen. And God can't move through us if we aren't willing to move at all. We must first recognize His voice, and then take responsibility for obeying it.
One time, in second grade, my teacher gave us these extravagant pictures of Easter Eggs we were suppose to color. These pictures were huge. This project would take hours. And I had to meet my girlfriends in the bathroom at 12:07 to discuss elementary politics and the lunch menu. I simply didn't have time for this. So I drew an elegant red line across the bunny's face and called it a day. Very Picasso.
About two days later a police officer walks into the classroom...no, I did not get arrested for fowl coloring. The police officer told the class his department had sent the pictures over as a competition. Whoever did the best coloring job won a gift basket.
Perfect.
Apparently everyone knew this but me, because my friend Eric and I were trying to fit glue sticks in the pencil sharpener when this information was given two days before.
I was too distracted to hear the instructions, therefore in no place to obey them.
Life is noisy and there are lots of distractions, hopefully more exciting than glue sticks. But if we don't step away from these distractions, we will never hear God's voice. And if we can't hear His voice, we have nothing to obey but the voices around us. We must first step away from the noises around us to recognize God's voice. We must then take responsibility for obeying his voice. Listening without obeying is only half the battle. If you hear God tell you to color a picture of an Egg and you refuse, you may be missing out on a gift basket He had planned to give you. Don't be afraid to listen and get moving!
"The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him."
It doesn't matter what we do, but who we are doing it for. Listening to and obeying God's word is how God intended us to live. Dependant on his voices alone, not the surrounding voices of this world. Recognize and Respond.
Make it a habit.