Here’s another daily meditation from my recent book of devotions ‘Sunrise Sunset’ (HarperCollins/Harper San Francisco). Feel free to use/adapt it. These appear regularly on our mail-list.

Shalom!
Rowland Croucher (‘servus servorum dei’; AMDG)

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart. Psalm 32: 11.

Obey – and you’ll be joyful. There are many verbs in the Bible in the imperative mood. Jesus is our Lord: he has the right to command. But he is also our Lover, and we should want to obey (John 14:21). David, who was tempted to think he was accountable only to himself, fell badly. He should have learned from his predecessor Saul’s experience with the Amalekites (see 1 Samuel 15:22). ‘To obey is better than sacrifice’ is a recurring theme throughout the prophets and in the teaching of Jesus. As in any love relationship, the lover wants the beloved, not merely tokens or ‘sacrifices’.

The key question for the Christian isn’t ‘What’s going to happen to me?’ but ‘What does my Lord want me to do?’ It isn’t ‘Why is this happening to me?’ but ‘What is his will for me in this situation?’ If we ask the right questions, we needn’t worry when we don’t understand all the reasons for God’s actions.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!