Four Imaginary Imprisonments (Part 9) | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

Imaginary Imprisonment #4 | REBELLION

We really think we're such big Christians; but, in all honesty, we fall short in complying with the small, simple things.  We DON'T DO what the Bible says to DO, and we DO what the Bible says NOT to do.  So you see, none of us are perfect; but it looks TERRIBLE when we single out certain sins to be more egregious than others.  Sin is sin: there are no big ones or little ones.  All sin, regardless of its nature, is rebellion.  And until we really understand this, we're going to continue to create division within the Body of Christ as well as run off unbelievers who don't want to be hurt anymore than they've already been.

It's time we grow up and stop rebelling against our Father like insecure teenagers and follow in His footsteps like mature, adult children.  A major part of this process involves us understanding the difference between agreement and submission.  Simply put, we don't have to submit when we're in agreement.  Being in agreement says, "Hey, I'm onboard; let's do this!"  Submission comes into play when we're not totally in agreement or just may be unsure of what's being required of us; but we choose to comply anyway.  But if we're neither in agreement nor submission, then that means we're in rebellion.  This hits all of us!  Even though everyone may not be struggling with rebellion, as I always remind myself, the struggle isn't necessarily with good and bad--it's often between good and BETTER.  Some of us are settling for submission in areas of our lives where we should be operating in total agreement.  It's like choosing to "make do" in the wilderness when we should be relaxing in an oasis.

The B-portion of Psalms 68:6 says that the rebellious dwell in a dry land.  Many of us are in some way familiar with dwelling in dry places.  Sometimes these periods in our lives are referred to as wilderness experiences.  Now, in all fairness, I do believe--as it's recorded in Romans 8:28--that all things work for our benefit.  However, if things in our lives aren't flowing the way they should, here's a bit of wisdom to recall when things get stopped up: look for rebellion.  When it seems there's something blocking our blessings, this isn't the time to be in denial of the blockage or become apathetic.  It's during these times that we MUST take that long, hard look at ourselves and do a personal inventory, fully examining our lives to see exactly WHERE we're not complying; and trade rebellion for compliance without hesitation.  Our minds must shift from a place of disagreement to one of agreement.  We must stop magnifying points of indifference and start showcasing areas of agreement because it's the power of agreement that releases the power of GOD to work on our behalf.