As commanded...

...not as preferred.

Not sure if this happens to you or even to people around you (in your church) - but I've caught myself in this situation more than once. There are times when you know what God has said you should do and possibly how He wants you to do it but you have your own ideas of how to best accomplish the assignment. Reading Exodus 39 last month, the last 2 verses kept ringing in my heart.

⁴²The Israelites did all this work exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴³ Moses looked closely at all the work and saw that it was done exactly as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them. Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

I agree that there is a place for initiative however, there is a time when God doesn't ask or need your input or ideas for what He wants done. A lot of times we point to Abraham who let his "submissive" wife Sarah come up with her idea of how to accomplish God's promise to them (see Gen 16). We know how that turned out. In fact it is still a thorn in our flesh as we speak (see Gen 16:12). And a good example of how things can go wrong & very wrong for very long when we come up with our own ideas of how to fulfill God's word or carry out His work.

In the verses quotes above, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to 4 things:
1. Moses told the people what God said should be done.
2. The people did the work as they were instructed to.
3. Moses checked to ensure the work was to "standard."
4. Then Moses blessed them for doing what they did.

My takeaway from this is: No matter how much we (or others) desire or even strive for it, God will only bless us for doing His work as commanded not as preferred and definitely not as convenient.

Therefore it is imperative that as leaders we do 4 things:
1. Be clear on the what and how God wants things done - when He has told us.
2. Ensure that you and others do what God has said exactly as commanded, not as preferred.
3. Be careful not to be permissive in accepting work not done to God's standard.
4. Ensure that you take the time to pray for & bless those who do God's work as commanded.

May the Lord help us all to continue to do what He has commanded us to do as commanded and He will be sure to command His blessings upon us all.