obedience

I have posted before about being obedient. It is something that God keeps challenging me with lately. It is not easy. Just like it is not easy for my three year old to keep her play kitchen cups empty of water, along with the rest of her kitchen set and the floor and any bowl in the vicinity.

Pure obedience. I have been searching for what this looks like in my life personally, so naturally I looked up the definition in my bible's concordance for further study.

Obedience: submissiveness to authority; following orders.

It is about following what God has to say through the bible. Obedience and listening go hand in hand. Without listening you will not know what you need to obey and if you hear what God has said, you should then obey.

Hearing God through the chaos and distractions can be tough. This is another topic on itself. I highly recommend the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. It is sure to change the way you listen.

We are called to not to be merely hearing but doing what it says (James 1:22). Your stomach may be in knots and sweat may be collecting. Being obedient takes courage and bravery and trust in God in what he has asked you to do and for him to follow through.

For me this week, it looked like writing about this. For the past few months, it has been sharing my writing in general. It may seem silly to you but it is not easy for me. Being obedient refines you. It takes you out of yourself and in to God's plans and works for you. It makes you do things that seem crazy to others and possibly yourself. It keeps you relying on God to pull through on the plan he has.

The bible has a lot to say about obedience, with numerous accounts to back it up. From Abraham to Moses to David and Solomon. Their lives all demonstrated it. But what does this look like in the 21st century in your life? I pray that you would seek God for guidance and open your heart to his words. Search the bible and be in prayer.

I pray that if God has asked you to do something already that you would take the first step toward whatever it may be. Fill out the application. Make the call. Say the words that silence has filled. Do something. Whatever your something is. Whatever God has called you to do.

You will be blessed by it because God's word does not return void.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

God does not ask us to do things that will hurt others or ourselves but those that help them and glorify him.

Here's to tuning in to the still small voice of God and being obedient to his calling. And more prayers to help you answer the calling towards obedience. Here's to opening your eyes and heart to God's guidance.