On the Other Side of Your Obedience

I was tested today, like many days. Life is choices and today was no different… 1) I can walk around in confusion, 2) I can give up, or 3) I can give it to God and wait. So I grabbed my bike helmet and rode and rode and rode and rode and then rode some more… (I have rediscovered the love of riding. I can get a good work out but can go farther and longer. I like to explore so this has been a lot of fun recently.)

As I was riding I remembered a teaching that I listened to while at Mercy, the speaker was talking about “That someone is on the other side of your obedience…” God did not ask me to make everything perfect or smooth or please everyone. He asked me to simply obey. At times I would rather suffer the consequences then to obey to the fullest. But this teaching that I listened to gave me a kick in the direction that I needed. “That someone is on the other side of your obedience…” You see when God has spoken to us, when we know what we are to do, we just have that gut feeling, when you’re to afraid to say “God told me too…” but in your heart you know it is true. We are not the only one that will benefit from our obedience.

While at Mercy there were times that I just didn’t want to go further. I didn’t want freedom at the cost of looking deep and being 100% vulnerable. But I was not created to like in bondage, I was not created to live in fear. I was created to be a living vessel and representation of what FREEDOM is! And it was not only for myself but for others that were “…On the other side of my obedience…” I saw it last night in the laughter of 10 girls from G-wood as we sat around and had dinner together, laughed (so hard it hurt), and talked honestly. My heart jumped today when my mom called to tell me that she was bringing my younger brother to get his passport so that he could join me on an upcoming mission trip to Nicaragua. I wasn’t sure if he could come, and was a little nervous about asking. But it was one of those “Gut-Feelings”

Have you ever thought about who may be on the other side of your obedience? Maybe God is asking you to take a step of faith, and your family is thinking you are crazy… but what if that is what they need? What if your obedience shows them that God is real and not a stuffy religion? What if you want to start praying with your spouse? Yes, there is fear that you will be rejected. But what if this seemingly small beginning to you is exactly what God is going use to jumpstart his/her heart?

There are so many times that it is hard to obey. Today it helped to think about and to ponder “That someone is on the other side of my obedience…” I can’t see the future so I don’t really know who that could be. But that makes it all the more exciting, to think that my obedience could touch another’s life.