Lately, because I choose a workout time slot with the fewest people, my workouts usually occur in the mornings during the time that my daughter and I had set aside for morning devotions. Embarrassingly, I find myself skipping devotions completely on those days. I finally conversed with God to make a new plan—one that I can commit to consistently. While creating this plan with God, a niggling voice asked, “You’ve already skipped your devotions, so why bother now?” “Because I have an obligation to God” was one of my responses. And that annoying voice chuckled malevolently, “Oh, so you only go to God because you feel obligated?” which sent waves of guilt through me.
The word “obligation” or “obligate” can have a negative connotation. As the deceiver would have me believe, it only means “required by unwelcomed duty or command,” an action performed out of guilt or compunction. So, should I be obligated to spend time with God? According to Merriam-Webster, obligate means to “bind legally or morally.”[1] Obligation is “the action of obligating oneself to a course of action (as by a promise or vow).”[2] These two definitions immediately reminded me of the covenant we have with God.
One of the big AHAs I had during my graduate studies was (and still is) gaining clarity about being “under God’s covenant.” In its simplest terms, this covenant means God is Lord, and I am His servant. However, the covenant is conditional; the Lord God will watch over me, care for me, cover me if I remain faithful to Him, obey Him, honor Him.[3] This covenant agreement binds me legally and morally to God. So, YES, to maintain that relationship, I am obligated to my Lord. YES, I am obliged to spend time with Him. YES, I have an obligation to honor, praise, worship, and serve Him. YES, I will pursue a course of action that allows me to maintain that relationship. As a daughter of God, I willingly obligate my time and talents, my devotion and worship, and my prayer and praise to God. My obligation to God evokes a feeling of comfort, not guilt and assurance, not compunction. And I will not allow the deceiver to contort my obligation to God.
Reflection: What are your feelings about your relationship with God? What or who has interfered with that relationship? How did you overcome that interference??
[1]. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “obligate,” accessed May 28, 2022, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obligate.
[2]. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “obligation,” accessed May 28, 2022, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obligation.
[3]. My reviewers asked that I change if to but. After considering this suggestion and further study, I chose to leave if. If we don’t fulfill our end of the covenantal contract, there will be consequences. Yes, God loves and cares for us when we are disobedient, but He can “reach the end of His rope” so to speak as evidenced by the cyclical rise and fall of Israel chronicled in its Deuteronomistic history. He will punish if we stray.
Love this. Glad you kept the “if.”
Great “food for thought”, Sabrina. I love it when God’s children are able to thwart the evil one’s taunts and determination to make them confused about their faith in God. We know Whose we are, and so we will always be able to overcome any threat, including the meanings of words, that comes at us. Hallelujah!