Psalm 95:6-7: "Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!"
Faithful follower...am I? Not always. I try to be though. I mean I use common sense and don't always follow the crowd but, I do tend to react out of fear or frustration and may not make the best decisions. The devotional used sheep as an analogy. Sheep aren't the smartest animals in the world but they follow their Shepard, the one who feeds and protects them. Yet, they can run crazy if they are startled by a loud sound or trying to escape harm. I can see myself running around a pasture during a lightening storm, which I can equate to financial trouble or family trouble. I'm sure even if their Shepard is trying to get them under control, the fear consumes them and they do their own thing.
Sounds like me. Or at least me a year ago.
I desire to only follow God's voice. Sometimes, discerning His voice from my own is the hard part. I get bogged down with influences around me and sometimes wonder if I am making a decision based on what I think God is telling me or if it's my own emotions or thoughts that's leading. I have already decided to take the road less traveled by trying to live according to God's word. No more sex till marriage, watching what I put before my eyes and in my ears, having a heart for others, serving, sharing my faith, walking in love (even when I don't want to), forgiving instead of combating, etc. Taking the focus off of me and putting it on others is definitely going against the grain of the popular mainstream.
I like the verse mentioned in the devotional from Colossians 3:1-2 "So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." I do have a new life and I must live this life out according to His word, His voice. I can no longer worry about what the world thinks, or what friends think, or give in to my own selfish desires. I need to see things from His perspective, not my own.
Are there areas in my life right now in which I have not been faithful in following the Lord's voice? Sure. Finances, my trust in Him, and probably some other areas too. I am used to taking matters into my own hands out of impatience so I am learning to be patient. That's definitely a work in progress. I am a signs and wonders kind of girl so, I am learning to just trust in faith even when I may not get that obvious green light to go. I want to only hear My Father's voice and only follow His lead. Tuning out all the other noise and distractions...
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