Have you ever thought that mediocrity disturbs God?
Mediocre, according to Webster’s dictionary, is derived from a Latin word meaning literally “halfway to the top.” So, we only are going halfway when we had planned to go all the way.
I am afraid that most of us are content with mediocre obedience to God in our daily lives. We are satisfied merely to keep our nose clean and passively avoid the “greater sins” of the world (there is no difference in sins to God). So, not much effort goes into our obedience to God on a daily basis.
God doesn’t intend it or want it to be this way. In Psalm 119:4, David says, “You have ordained Your precepts (commandments), that we should keep them diligently.”
Diligence means earnest and energetic application. That means we seek God’s will for our lives daily from the Bible and then set about doing it. Diligent people take the initiative. They seek to love others and to glorify Christ in their daily lives. They seek out victory in overcoming besetting sins such as a sharp tongue, a critical spirit, gossiping or a troublesome fleshly thought life.
Diligent obedience takes maximum effort. For one thing it takes moment-by-moment prayer. After intensely studying about the power of prayer in the Bible, I concluded that as soon I started trying to obey God, I found out real fast I could not do it by myself and I would slip back to expending mediocre effort in obedience to God’s Word.
David (a man after God’s own heart) understood this and prayed this in Psalm 119:5, “O that my ways may be established to keep Your statutes!” This was a cry from the depths of David’s heart. He wanted to obey God, but he discovered he couldn’t on his own power. He needed help—God’s help—so he prayed.
Do we pray earnestly for God’s power and help in our obedience to Him? We will if we want to be diligent about it.
David also put feet to his prayers. He says in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”
David knew the power of God’s Word to keep him from sin and to prompt him to obedience, so he stored it up in his heart. He didn’t balk at the work involved in memorizing Scripture. He simply went about storing God’s Word in his mind and heart. He wanted to be obedient to God more than anything else.
The reward of that obedience is recorded by David in Psalm 119:14, “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.”
To walk with God and share in His testimonies is the path of obedience. David found delight here—as much as in all riches.
Are we willing to pay the price necessary for diligent obedience to God?
Or will we just continue being mediocre?
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