Actions Speak Louder
What do your actions say about your love for God?
Verse of the Day
“Consider how I love your precepts; Lord, give me life according to your faithful love.”
Today’s Devotional
The word “precept” means “a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action”. This is a word that I have to look up almost every time it comes up. My brain just can’t seem to remember what it means. It has never registered with me that the word has to do with action. Do you love the general rules of action that God has given you? Have you ever considered that the greatest command, according to Jesus, to love God and to love your neighbor as a precept? That means that Jesus was speaking of our actions and not our feelings or general disposition. If I say that I love God, but I do not seek Him, talk to Him, spend time with Him, worship Him, adore Him, and serve Him, then do I really love Him?
Think about someone that loves you. What if they said they loved you every day, but never wanted to spend time together? What if saying that they loved you was all they ever said to you? And even worse, they would say it to others, but not even directly to you. (As in, a husband will say to others “yes, I love my wife” but the husband never says it TO his wife.). What if they never thought of your needs or desires? What if you wrote letters to them and they never even read them?
That would not be the behavior of someone that actually loves you with their actions, right?
So…do you love the general rules of action that God has given you? Sometimes, for me, the answer is no. But in my life, the more I obey, the more I understand WHY God has asked me to do those things. The more my actions follow a certain precept, the more I love the precept itself.
The other thing I find interesting, and maybe a little challenging, about this verse is that the psalmist is asking God to look at how well he loves God with his actions. Are you brave enough to ask God the same kind of question? “Hey God, I’d like you to look at my actions and tell me how much I love you.”
I believe that my actions speak much louder than my words. I think that might be what this psalmist is pointing out. We love God with our actions. We love each other with our actions. Maybe it’s time to take a look at our actions and see what they are saying.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What is one general rule of action that you struggle with obeying?
Which act of obedience do you maybe have a bad attitude about?
What is one simple act you can add to your day today to “put action” to your love for God?
Have you experienced the fruit of obedience before?
Ask God: “According to my actions, how much do I love you, Lord?”