I’ve wanted to be a secretary since I was little. In high school, I took business-related classes and learned how to type, shorthand, and work with numbers. With this solid background, I landed my first secretary position at an insurance company. After just one year, I was able to get a job at AT&T. This was an important position to acquire. Although my job became more administrative, I still continued to do the type of work I loved.
I got married and moved to another state, where I transferred to a position at AT&T as a data center computer technician, which was completely foreign to me. I remember when I met my new boss, he asked me if I had ever worked in a data center before. I tentatively answered “no,” worried that it might be a problem. To my surprise, he said, “Okay!” “I don’t have any assumptions about how a data center is run, so I can train them the way I want.”
We do that to the Lord, right? He tells us exactly how to live a Christian life, but we bring our own prerequisites to it…
Some may have been raised in the church but have never truly given their life to Christ. In such a situation, the person may think that going to church every Sunday is enough to live a Christian life.
Some may have lived a life of rebellion against the Lord, believing that the Christian life was no match for them.
Some may feel that the Christian life is no different from any other life, as long as one is a “good person.” Some people may feel that if they don’t check off a long legalistic list, they are not living a Christian life.
We are a fickle people, and we can greatly complicate the Christian life, from what it means to be truly saved to living out our faith.
The Lord gives us three principles for living a Christian life… “So choose your life so that you and your descendants may love the Lord your God, obey his voice, and hold fast to him. For this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Let’s see how to put these into practice.
love the lord
“We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19
This verse here says it all. God is not your boss who expects you to complete His task list. Jesus is our Heavenly Father who loved us before the world began. That love came in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we could live forever with Him in Heaven.
Unfortunately, when we choose to live life our way, or do things our own way, we can forget the Lord’s great love for us. Just as my boss didn’t want me to come to work in a data center implementing protocols I learned in a previous field, when we act outside of God’s will for our lives, we not only hurt ourselves, but we dishonor the price Jesus paid for our sins.
Think about the love you have for your children and your parents. You would do anything for them. Even if I have to sacrifice something, I will still do it. It’s very natural. It’s not forced. I have no grudges. Our love for the Lord is no different.
First and foremost, loving the Lord is how we live our Christian lives. What does this really mean? Loving God is not a burden we strive to carry, but a response that springs from God’s love for us. As you reflect on God’s kindness, mercy, and faithfulness, your heart will be gently drawn toward Him. Love for the Lord grows best when we remember who He is and what He has done. Through prayer and time in the Word, your love for the Lord will continue to grow and overflow from you through your thoughts, words, and actions.
As a result, when you glorify God in this way, you will live a true Christian life.
follow his voice
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” —John 10:27
When we see our own obedience to the Lord as sheep following the Good Shepherd, it doesn’t seem like the kind of obedience that would make people upset. The role of a shepherd is “one who gathers, cares for, protects, and feeds the sheep. Functioning as a noun, it defines a person who cares for livestock, often lives with them, and leads them out to pasture.” Jesus, our Shepherd, teaches us not to yell and command, but to keep us safe so that we can grow in His knowledge and wisdom. God cares for us and lives within us through the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s goal for our Christian lives is to bring us safely home to be with Him in heaven.
Our obedience must come from a deep abiding in the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the one who condemns us and guides us by saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 What should we actually do? We must first die to ourselves and not allow our selfish desires to override what the Holy Spirit has “heard” us do. Second, throughout the day we must spend time in communion with the Holy Spirit, sitting silently before the Lord and seeking His wisdom so that we can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Even when your days seem hectic, you can take a few minutes to catch your breath and listen.
To the Holy Spirit. Finally, the Holy Spirit meets you in the words of the Bible. Let God “speak” to you and guide you in the path you should take.
Obedience begins with listening. The Lord continues to speak through His Word, through the Spirit, and in the quiet promptings of your heart. As you learn to recognize God’s voice, obedience becomes less of an obligation and more of a trust to obey the One who knows you perfectly.
Obedient listening puts you in the center of God’s will and promotes living a true Christian life. It has a positive impact not only on your own personal life, but also on all those with whom you come into contact through the blessing of that communion.
cling to him tightly
“Let us hold fast to our confession of hope without wavering, for the one who promised is faithful.” —Hebrews 10:23
“Be steadfast” means to hold fast, remain steadfast, or endure.
It’s very easy to lose hope when life hits you with a vengeance. People may feel that the Lord has abandoned them or does not care about them. It is very easy to shut God out during times of trial. Because God allows us all these difficult situations and we have decided that God should no longer care about us.
In the story of Jacob, one night he wrestled with God until he received a blessing. If you think about watching a wrestling match, the two opponents rarely, if ever, don’t touch each other. In fact, they cling to each other tightly until one of them is no longer as tenacious as the other, at which point a wrestling match is called. The one who held on to it without wavering and remained unyielding was the one who won.
This is literally what we must do when faced with life’s difficulties. Rather than shutting God out or turning away from Him, we must draw closer to Him and cling patiently to Him until He saves us. The deliverance may not be what you expected, but we can know that God’s chosen mechanism of deliverance is better than anything we could have imagined. There will definitely be blessings.
Life is a test of what you hold on to. When in doubt, cling to God, not your own strength. Staying steadfast is an act of faith and placing our hope in God’s unchanging nature. God is faithful and will not let you go.
Holding tight to the Lord strengthens your faith muscles. The more you practice them, the stronger your faith will become. The stronger your faith, the more your Christian life will testify to the hope the Lord gives you when you depend completely on Him.
The best way to stay grounded in the Lord throughout the day, especially during times of trial and tribulation, is through prayer. You can talk to Him at any time of the day. You can talk to him all day long. It doesn’t have to be a formal, lofty prayer, but simply a conversation with your Savior, your brother, your friend.
When you incorporate these three principles into your life as a Christian, you will not only be happier and more peaceful, but you will be putting into practice what the Lord spoke to the Israelites all those years ago. “This is your life.”
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to love Him, obey His voice, and hold fast to Him. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Are you currently struggling with any of these principles?
What will you do this week to live the Christian life God intended?
Photo credit: © Getty Images/Jacob Ammentorp Lund
Karen Dell Tattoo is a blogger, author, women’s ministry leader, pastor’s wife, mother, and grandmother who is passionate about God’s Word. Her blog, “Growing Together in Grace and Knowledge,” and her books, “Choosing to Trust God: Breaking the Habit of Worry,” “A 30-Day Devotional,” and “Choosing to Trust God Companion Journal,” reveal her heart offering biblical insights to inspire women to grow in, through, and overcome hardship. Karen and her husband live in Rhode Island and enjoy walking in the woods, petting owls, and spending time with their grandchildren.
