immediate obedience

"What, back so soon, sacredcowtipper?" Oh yeah. This is important.

I am becoming more and more convinced that I should not "immediately obey" spiritual messages in my heart, out of a notion that "anything short of immediate obedience is disobedience to God." That, to me, seems like a recipe for allowing an unholy spirit of fear or anxiety to control me (based on the types of messages -- feelings of anxiety -- that I have sensed from time to time).

God tells us through Scripture to "test the spirits" (1John 4:1-6). That does not sound like a command for immediate obedience to me. Perhaps the confusion stems from verse 6: "We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (NASB). I can see how this verse could be misused to say, "trust every preacher who references Scripture, thus claiming to listen to the apostles; distrust everyone who disagrees with such preachers." But I think a better lesson is this: every true prophet (or spirit) will agree with God's Word.

Why would God allow his adopted children to be oppressed by evil spirits and false prophets? Maybe so it will force us to keep checking back with Him. Which requires faith in His almighty strength to overcome our fallible human perceptions, and get through to us.

Beloved children, trust in our Father, even when you cannot trust yourself.

Love,
sacredcowtipper