It is never a minor thing to know God's will and not do it. God calls this sin. We can make excuses for our lack of obedience: “I’m just not ready yet”or “I’ll do it later!”or “I don’t think it will make a difference”or “I can’t afford to!”We rationalize, we procrastinate; yet, in God's eyes, rationalization and procrastination are nothing more than disobedience.
At times we deceive ourselves into thinking that good intentions equal obedient actions. They do not. A good intention without corresponding activity is disobedience. When we encounter God and He gives us a direction, it is not enough to write down the date in our spiritual journal, or even to tell our friends and church of our “decision.”God's call is not to “make a decision”but to obey! Deciding to obey is not equal to obeying (Matt. 21:28–31)! Loudly affirming the necessity of obedience is not the same as obeying (Luke 6:46). Making commitments, even publicly, is not the same as obeying our Lord. Substituting our own good works is not the same as obeying. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
We all have been in this particular boat.
Many have made public our decisions, our personal revelations at God's call in our lives. I have done this. I have also been guilty of not following through on them as well.
How serious do you think Jesus takes it when that verse was written? It goes hand-in-hand with something else He told the Jewish leaders. Go figure out what this means. I desire obedience not sacrifice.
Is your heart so divided that you, in all honesty, don't obey as you know that you should?
Everyone fights a divided heart. Even the late Billy Graham. Paul, Peter, John and all the Apostles, those who are part of the Church Universal. Sin is still in us. Forgiven and Saved yes. But we will not be free of its ugly influence until we stand in the presence of Jesus.
Do we pray for an answer, plead for intercession, beg for mercy from God, yet when He quietly asks something of us we dismiss it? He makes His Will known and we sort of acknowledge it but then don't trust Him in it?
Look at your life. Look at your heart.
This isn't anything you need to share with me or anyone but yourself and God.
Has God truly spoken to you but rather than obey you keep digging in. Fighting for a different answer? He indeed may still be blessing your life, but breadcrumbs aren't the same as the feast that could be.
Are you fighting depression, anxiety sadness? Examine your decisions.
Examine your obedience.
Look at the examples from the Bible.
How many were told to do something and they didn't obey. How did it go for them?
Before any say that was different back then. Read Ecclesiastes. There's nothing new under the sun.
Jonah didn't obey. Spent 3 days in the damp dark belly of a whale until true obedience won out.
Elijah and Elisha ran into situations. David knew better yet didn't obey what he knew was right with God. Solomon. Wisest man ever to live apart from Jesus...began ok. Introduced so much compromise that his end was worse than bad.
Knowing isn't enough. We KNOW when God makes Himself known. He leaves obedience in our hands.
You want to find your joy again? Obey.
You want to be rid of anxiety and depression? Obey.
You want the face of Jesus to smile upon you? Obey. Don't acknowledge that He's right then not obey.
He that knows the good he is to do and does not do it, it is sin.
King David wrote of how it ate away at his bones when he tried to hide his sin.
Trust God that He has it worked out. We likely won't have all the facts figured out. To trust your Master means to just do.
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