Jana Spicka and Women Getting Real Ministries
Posts tagged Obedience
An Invitation to Trust
Apr 21st
My friend Toni unknowingly blew my head off one day when she was talking about obedience. She said, “We have a wrong thought about obedience. It is not a hard, mean thing. It is kind of like when you were a kid and your dad or mom says, ‘Hey I am going to the store, you wanna come?’ “
It’s an invitation. An invitation to trust the One who is asking you to come along.
I have brewed on this conversation with my insightful friend for a long time now. Every time I hear Chuck invite one of the girls to go on an errand, the Lord takes my understanding a little deeper. Why does Chuck ask? He wants to have some one-on-one time. He wants to talk to them about something specific. He has a surprise for them. He just enjoys their company.
Rarely do the girls fire off these questions:
Where are we going?
How will we get there?
How long will we be gone?
How much will it cost?
How will I pay for this?
How am I supposed to do this alone?
You see, all they know and rest in is that their dad, imperfect but loving dad, has asked them to go somewhere. The details don’t really matter because it is about the two of them going on an adventure.
If you told them, “you have to go”, the reactions would be different wouldn’t they? That Self kicks up in a moment. And this is the beauty, and the scandal, of our free will choosing of God. Our perfect Loving Father has asked us to trust His leading, trust His way. Trust Him. Even when we don’t understand the details and we can’t foresee the outcome. Jesus said, “Follow me.” He did not say, “You have to follow me.” He invited them into an adventure. And even though His followers surely did not know the future, they saw in His eyes something they could not refuse.
Where are you chafing? What are you fighting for or against? Who are you fighting? And what if you just looked instead into the eyes of God? What if you listened again to what He said, ‘Follow me’, and without throwing out a thousand rebuttals, you just trusted the Heart that was asking you to come on an adventure?
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Psalm 32:9
Who Is Driving?
Mar 8th
You already know that the Lord is hilarious. And He speaks everywhere all the time. Well my God story this week is from a bathroom in Hot Springs, North Carolina.
We were making a pit stop on the way to our WGR Leadership Retreat and I saw an open Bible on the bookshelf next to the potty. So since I was just sitting there for a moment (ahem) I looked over to see where it was opened. Oh, surprise, surprise: Psalm 23, where most Bibles are marked in funeral homes and the like. But I sensed the Lord telling me to read Psalm 26 because I love that one. I quickly realized it was in the King James Version, and this familiar verse took on a whole new kick.
“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Psalm 26: 2
When was the last time you prayed that? How much do we give the Lord permission to examine and prove us? I don’t know about you, but the term “try my reins and my heart” really grabbed my attention. Reins are what you use to direct, to lead, to guide, to stop or correct. Reins are how you drive a horse, a carriage, a life.
“Try my reins.” See if I willingly hand them over to You. Are they supple in Your hands from firm, loving use? Are they easy to hold from lots of hours of good following and obedience? Or are they stiff and unused? Have I been running wild without reins or direction?
What about my heart? Do I do the same for my heart? Willingly hand it over? Trust You to hold and lead? Is it soft and following, or hard and balking when You apply tender pressure? And honestly, what is the difference between my reins and my heart?
It is the difference between my will and my affection. It is one thing to say you follow God. It is another to love Him. It is one thing to “obey” out of fear, and quite another to “go with Him” out of pure adoration. Both the reins (or will) and the heart are what God is after. Wholeheartedly His.
Examine me, Lord. Test how I am living life with You. Gauge how I am allowing my life to be led. By You or by my own selfish ways. You are the God of my will. You take the reins. And hold my heart, Lord. Keep it warm, safe and soft in Your mighty right hand. Heal me and make me fully yours. Amen.