So, she will try hard, really hard to do things for people. She will help to an extreme -- do things actually I told her not to do because I want her siblings to do them. She will try, try, try to overcompensate for her bad behavior, hide it maybe by piling on all this stuff she thinks makes up for it.
I get frustrated with this and just sigh. I try to get her to look at what's important. And she gets it at times, but then falls right back into this kind of thing later.
This reminds me exactly what we humans do with God. He wants an inner change, obedience, a flowing relationship between us and Him. But often what we do instead is all this "good" stuff -- what many call "good works" to overcompensate for our failures, our sin. Or, we try to bribe God by giving Him more money or maybe we try to be really "holy" by fasting or depriving ourselves or doing things to ourselves that hurt to get God's attention. If done rightly fasting is a good thing, but it isn't for God, it is for us. We can't con Him into being pleased with us or into doing things we want Him to do.
He doesn't want sacrifice. He wants obedience. He's been saying that to His kids all along.
"to obey is better than sacrifice" says Samuel to Saul in 1 Samuel 15.
I'm on this kick because of what I read today about Sabbath rest. I had a spiritual tantrum Friday afternoon -- I was not liking how God was providing. I was sullen. I was trying to come to grips with believing again. God got me through and helped me back to where I needed to be within Saturday morning.
If we don't believe in Him no matter what, if we don't trust no matter what we are going to find ourselves in a bad place, outside His rest and conflicted within. The work God wants us to do for Him is to believe in Him. In John 6:29 Jesus says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
This means we believe God is good, that He loves us; that He is just. He wants us to be His children not some worker bees. The work we do for Him must come out of belief not out of a sacrifice that we are doing to make ourselves right with Him. We can't make ourselves right with Him through what we do or through mutilating ourselves. We only make ourselves right with Him by believing in Jesus Christ. Then we need to "abide in Him" always (that means live in Him and it is found in John 15).
This is called The Believer's Rest. More on this is in Hebrews 4.
"We were have believed enter that rest" Hebrews 4:32.
The chapter talks about how the Israelites didn't enter that rest because they grumbled and doubted and were disobedient. They didn't believe God could do the impossible. They didn't want faith. They didn't want God. They wanted all their selfish desires met while they lived without faith.
"Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:7a
Back to me. By choosing my desires, what I wanted to happen, how I wanted God to provide over Him, I kicked myself out of His Peace, His rest and was in turmoil within for probably eight hours. I was talking with God most of that time. I cried. I was discouraged. I was lost inside because what I wanted to happen didn't.
I was focused on circumstances rather than Jesus Christ. I was focused on ME rather than on God.
Thank the LORD His mercies and lovingkindnesses are new every single day!!!!!
Don't stay in turmoil or stress. Don't live that way. You don't have to. God's way is a whole lot better.