Willingness / Obedience…

Willingness / Obedience…

While attending AA meetings, sometimes as many as 7-8 meetings a week, the term “willingness” was discussed a lot. We have to be willing before anything, anything at all, happens in our lives. We must be willing to succeed just as we must be willing to fail in order to advance in a given situation or in our lives.

It isn’t until Step 8 that the word “willing” appears – Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. By this time in the process ones life has been turned over to God and the person should have a sense of the Holy Spirit rebirth and what that means to their life. If the person has been brutally honest to this point, being willing should come easy.

During prayer time this morning, after the air, heart, soul and mind were cleared of the enemy roaming about, God put a number of people of my heart. The word “unsavory” was the identity the enemy was attempting to sell this morning. The word “unsavory”, according to Merriam-Webster, means disgraceful, distasteful, morally offensive. A more modern use of the word is associated with food / foodies meaning unpleasant taste or smell. After asking Jesus Christ to rebuke and remove this identity He spoke of 5 different people to pray over today. As of this writing 4 of the 5 have been contacted, we had a wonderful conversation with prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. With only 1 of the 5 remaining the whole idea of “willing” comes to mind. We must be willing to follow what we are told to do. It doesn’t mean we must do it, but if we are able it’s probably best and if we are unable there should probably be  a good reason to only be willing.

We see this very thing playing out in Acts 5:1-4 NKJB when Peter is accepting offerings from the community.

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

Ananias was not willing to part with his possession and the Holy Spirit, through Peter, knew what had happened. This is how it works. While we believe we are able to hold back and be unwilling to do the right thing, God already knows. When is God hidden from us? What does He not see, not understand, not know? It is only our inability to be honest, willing and forth-coming with every aspect of our life that our life changes from the inside, where the Holy Spirit lives, to the outside, where we walk in God’s kingdom.

If you don’t believe this is how it works, attempt something, anything, with only half-measures and let’s see how that works out.

Either the Scripture is the divine Word of God teaching us how to live and how to be a reflection of Him, or it’s nothing more than a historical account of events.