Last night at bible study, our associate pastor spoke from Exodus 6:2-8 in which God promised to reveal Himself as LORD to the Israelites. Have you experienced God as LORD in your life personally?
In the passage, God said that he would reveal Himself as LORD by what He would do for them. In other words, He made promises to them and they were going to see God in action through their daily experience as He fulfilled the promises He made. God was going to be personally involved in their lives.
In the passage, these were the promises God made to the Israelites:
-
"I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians"
-
"I will free you from being slaves to them"
-
"I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment"
-
"I will take you as my own people"
-
"I will be your God"
-
"I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Issac and to Jacob."
-
"I will give it to you as a possession."
God ends with the declaration "I am the LORD." To me, the name LORD speaks of a promise-keeping God!
But God cannot be LORD in your life if you do not obey His instructions. God already knows the path you need to take to see His promise fulfilled in your Life. His instructions walk you along that path.
The Israelites experienced God as LORD through obedience to His instructions right up until #7. You see God bringing them to the entrance of the Promised Land (fulfillment of promise #6) in Numbers 13. To fulfill promise #7 and reveal Himself as LORD in this area, He instructed the Israelites to go into the land and take possession.
But they refused to obey Him and so He could not be LORD to them.
The problem was not with God; the problem was with the children of Israel, their unbelief, and hard-heartedness. They did not remember all the ways God had revealed Himself as LORD in their previous experiences. And so, they did not believe His ability to be LORD in this circumstance.
Jesus said it best in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?"
So my question to you is, has God given you a vision concerning your health? Do you have a picture of yourself as healthy, fit, and strong? I believe that every day, God gives you the opportunity to accept Him as LORD in the health arena so that you can see Him bring this vision to life through your daily experiences.
If you are hearing the LORD's instructions that you know will ultimately change your health for the better, but you don't obey these instructions, then you limit God's ability to be LORD in that area.
God gave me a desire to become a superfit 50 year-old. I'm still a few years away from that age, but He's given me instructions to achieve that vision. For one, I choose to exercise consistency and with each session, I exercise with maximum focus and intensity.
In addition, God told me "Eat according to the woman that you WANT TO BE." So to have the level of health I want, then I need to eat only when my body is hungry and stop eating when my hunger has disappeared. I need to eat foods consistently that give me energy, not rob me of energy. It doesn't mean that I can't have treats, but I do not try to make a regular diet of them.
Every time I follow the instructions the LORD gave for me, I allow Him to be LORD in that area and increase my confidence that the vision He gave me will be fulfilled. I see the progress!
Today, consider the vision God has given you. Consider the instructions He has given you. Are you allowing God to be LORD by doing the things He says?
If you are weak in this area, then declare to the LORD in prayer that you want to let Him be LORD in every area. Ask Him to give you strength and show you the first step of trust to take. The more you allow Him to be LORD, the faster you will see His promises come to pass in your life!