John 14: 21 “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
In the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a prayer. It reads:
“And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept . . . life’s terms [and God’s will] I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.”
“Accept and Obey” is a variation on the hymn, “Trust and Obey.” It means we must accept what we cannot change as well as God’s will for us. His will is always the same; to obey him in all matters. In other words, we must turn our entire life over to his care. Why?
God is our Supreme Being.
God knows what is best for us.
God knows how to best serve him.
God knows what will truly make us fulfilled.
God knows what hidden gifts we have.
God knows our strengths and weaknesses.
God knows who we should marry.
God knows how we can best be of use to him.
God knows us as if we were the only person on this planet.
God knows what changes have to be made in our lives better than we do.
God knows our secrets and which ones must be exposed for healing purposes.
I could go on, but you get my point. God knows best in all things. To accept his decisions is best for everybody. How do we accept and obey?
1. We admit that we need help and guidance.
2. We make a decision to accept and obey.
3. We resist the urge to change our minds.
4. We ignore all temptations from Satan.
5. We go through the withdrawal brought on by letting go of old ways of thinking, believing and behaving.
6. We pray and meditate for God’s will for us to be known.
7. We pray for strength to carry out God’s will.
8. We celebrate every decision we make to serve God in this way.
9. We let go of the past because ruminating on it will slow our progress.
Some things do not need to be told to us. The Bible has instructions on how to accept and obey. God will always want us to love our neighbor as ourselves. He will always want us to do the loving thing when in doubt.
At first, accepting and obeying may seem like an arduous task. It is just to difficult we think. But if the truth be known, it is the pathway to happiness, joy, serenity, peace, self-actualization and much more. Just make the decision and stick it no matter what. Act as if your life is at stake because you will be tempted form time to time to take your own will back. If this happens, just start again. You will always be forgiven for having a slip or two on your path. But it is the most important thing you will ever do and you will be rewarded both in Heaven and here on earth. I can testify to that.