Day 6: Trust And Obey
- Joni
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
What do you want to do when someone tells you,
"DO NOT"?
Isn't it amazing how tempting
the DO NOT becomes?
DO NOT look.
DO NOT touch.
DO NOT eat.
DO NOT...
________________.
At times,
the rebel in me
wants
TO DO
the very thing I am told
NOT TO DO.
But then I began to wonder
why do I struggle with
GOD'S DO NOTS?
Hmm.
"DO NOT FEAR.
DO NOT BE DISMAYED..."
(Isaiah 41:10).
"DO NOT BE ANXIOUS about anything..."
(Philippians 4:6–7)
"DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED..."
(John 14:1)
"DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED..."
(Joshua 1:9).
"DO NOT FRET..."
(Psalm 37:1).
"DO NOT WORRY..."
(Matthew 6:25,34).
Hmm.
For every
DO NOT
is really an invitation
TO TRUST JESUS.
Because
HE says,
"I DO NOT give to you as the world gives"*
Instead,
"MY PEACE I leave with you.
MY PEACE I give to you"
*(John 14:27).
Notice what happens
when you choose to obey
HIS DO NOTS.
You experience
the
DOES.
The
DO NOTS
are not merely prohibitions.
They are
PROMISES
of what
GOD
will do when you
TRUST HIM.
You
DO NOT FEAR
because
HE IS WITH YOU.
You
DO NOT WORRY
because
HE PROVIDES.
You
DO NOT BE ANXIOUS
because
HE GIVES PEACE.
You
DO NOT LET YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED
because
HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD.
Every
DO NOT
is an invitation to know
JESUS
more deeply,
by exchanging
fear
for
FAITH,
anxiety
for
PEACE,
and
self-reliance
for
DEPENDENCE
upon
JESUS.
For on the other side
of every
DO NOT
is not a restriction,
but a
PROMISE.
A promise that
JESUS
is enough.
ALWAYS.
Let's have a
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
and
DO
the
DO NOTS
HE lovingly calls you to
DO NOT.
For what if the very first
DO NOT of CHRISTMAS
became the first
DO
of your heart?
When the angel appeared,
he said,
"DO NOT BE AFRAID".
When the shepherds trembled,
he said,
"DO NOT BE AFRAID".
Why?
Because
JESUS
had arrived.
The greatest
PROMISE OF GOD
was wrapped in the
GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS.
For GRACE
invites you
to
TRUST HIM.
For MERCY
frees you
from
FEAR.
For TRUTH
teaches you how to
LIVE.
That is why
CHRISTMAS
changes everything.
Because
THE BABY
born in Bethlehem grew to become
THE SAVIOR
who carried
your fears,
your worries,
your anxieties,
your guilt,
and your shame
to THE CROSS,
And through
HIS RESURRECTION
HE gives you
HIS PEACE
Therefore,
this
CHRISTMAS IN JULY,
what if
you rebelled
against
fear,
worry,
anxiety,
discouragement,
and every lie
that says
JESUS
is not enough?
Because
CHRISTMAS
wasn't simply
the birth
of a Baby.
It was the arrival
of
PEACE.
The arrival
of
HOPE.
The arrival
of
JOY.
The arrival
of
JESUS.
And that
is why
we celebrate
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
and
"TRUST AND OBEY"
(listen to the song below)
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