An Obedient Reply

"Maybe I'm thinking too much about this... Was that really God's voice I heard? What will happen if I go through with this? I mean, it's not like you can just take it back…Are you sure this is the right decision?" Doubts, confusion, uncertainty. They have all flooded our hearts, minds, and souls at some point in our lives. I've had these questions drowned me for months at a time, knowing what was the right thing to do but too scared to do it… months. Wow... it really took me that long to be obedient to the Creator of all? There was this thing that God kept tugging at my heart about and for quite some time… I would shove it to the back of my mind, thinking "Naw, that wasn't actually God… He wouldn't ask you to do something like that, right?" I had let my fears and doubts overcome my obedience to God for a long time. I had ran and ran from doing what He had asked… I would feel like I was growing closer to God and then that thing would pop up again and I would go into defensive mode and run for cover. God. The One I claim as my Savior, Lord of my Life, Protector, Comforter, my Rock, my everything. I doubted Him? The One who spoke the world into motion? The One who loved me at my darkest and wiped away all of my sin and shame? The VERY One who I preached and proclaimed? Pretty devastating to look back and see that I was so selfish and wanted to do my own thing instead of what was best, what God had planned for me… but praise the Lord, He is a God of second chances! And third, fifth, sixth… God of Grace and Mercy! But that doesn't give us an excuse to go on doing the things He convicted us of or to not listen to what the Holy Spirit has asked us to do. Here's the thing with obedience… When our parents/authorities ask us to do something or not to, it is usually for our own good. And when we disobey them, there are usually consequences. God sees the consequences. He sees the bump in the road when you're thousands of miles away from it. He sees the car crash. He sees the guilt and regret. He sees the depression, etc. etc. He sees it all. Now, that doesn't mean we won't experience pain if we are obedient, but we will produce fruits of righteousness and grow closer to God in the process of being obedient. You've heard this verse a thousand times probably: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 So here's what this scene looks like in this chapter of Jeremiah… The Israelites were taken captive in Babylon and God told Jeremiah the prophet that they needed to be fruitful and multiply (aka: make lots of babies) and to plant gardens and settle down and such because they were gonna be captives there for, well, 70 years… ouch. And you thought God was asking a lot of you… try waiting for 7 decades! But God knew what was best. The Promised Land was on the other side of those 70 years! If God asked this of them, I could let go of this thing He told me to let go of. So I did. And man, let me tell you what… I cannot begin to explain to you the peace I felt. The weight lifted off my shoulders has left me feeling lighter than a feather. But not just cause I was obedient, but also because I was reminded to refocus on God and remember that He truly knows what is best for me. No need to be sweatin' over the details and what would happen next… nope, just truly trusting Him, every little step of the way, and knowing that His plans are exceedingly better than mine. Let this be our prayer… Lord, I am sorry for having such little faith at times. You are the one who wakes me up every morning and puts breath in my lungs. You are the one who makes this heart beat, the one who created me. You made a way for me to be completely forgiven of every sin so I may spend an eternity with You, so I will truly never be dead. I thank You for all that You've done for me. I trust You and I know that Your plans are better than anything I could ever imagine. Father, let me be so confident in knowing your voice, as a child knows their parents voice, that I don't even consider questioning it and instead immediately obey what You have asked of me. You are my Heavenly Daddy and You want what is best for Your children, so I will trust You and obey You. Amen. In order to be obedient we must know our Fathers voice. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. He has never left you nor forsaken you and He won't now. Get to know Him better… spend time with Him, He longs, aches for, desires all your time and attention. The more you get to know Him the more clearly you hear Him and better you know His voice so that when He speaks to you, you don't have to think twice and, instead, do as He asks immediately because you know that your Heavenly Father wants to give His child the very best. "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive." Jeremiah 29:12-14 When you hear your Fathers voice, don't run away, run to Him instead, shaking your head yes and following through with obedient actions. He is faithful even when we are not, but let us do our best to be faithful just like Him. Let us bring joy to our Fathers' heart with our obedient reply. somewhere out there in the world, Cami G.