Title

Yielding To Inclinations

Scripture
Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
(Philemon 1:21)
Devotional
When asked what she thought about her husband’s teaching on submission, Kathryn Luther, wife of the great reformer Martin Luther responded, “I submit to his inclination.” Here we have the fruit of love and trust. Unfortunately, the word submission has been relegated to an archaic level in our day. Submission is seen as a negative trait, assigned to the weak, gullible and uneducated. When in reality it is the character of the strong, the leader and the truly successful. Those who are perceptive enough to yield to the inclinations of an authority will eventually become an authority. Those who do not always have to be told what to do and when to do it will eventually be leading those who do. Being insightful to the needs and desires of others and meeting those needs and desires is submitting to inclinations. It is doing more than what is being asked. It is the highest level of obedience and godly submission.
Thought For The Night

“Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace.” Thomas a Kampis, (1379–1471), His many writings include the influential devotional work Imitatio Christi (1415–24, The Imitation of Christ).

Evening Text
Philemon 21: Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Looking for Answers
Evening Study Guide
Defining: “Inclination”: Responding to that which we know of another, leaning toward their pleasure and desires.
 
Referencing: “I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.” Deuteronomy 31:21
 
Applying: When God leans, turn. When He looks, go. Yield to His inclinations and His inclinations will never fail.