Sometimes I have to peel my summer-logged kids off the couch. Even though I’m trying to keep them pretty busy so that the tendency to SIT and VEG doesn’t take over, if you were to visit my house on a July afternoon you might find all three of us sprawled in front of a movie.
Summers are made for lazy afternoons.
But at some point the mom in me has to rouse herself {usually around the time I panic that dinner is coming sooner than I think} and I devise ways to trump the television or video game.
Let’s clean our rooms
Let’s straighten up the play area
Help me fold some laundry
or, Let’s work on multiplication tables for next year.
Yep. None of that is very inviting.
They might raise one eyebrow in acknowledgment to me. Cozy and sunk in deep to the sofa cushions, they are the poster children for comfort. They don’t want to obey me because it’s hard and it doesn’t even make sense.
“WHY??” in unison they wail.
It even hurts to obey sometimes.
I do things in progression like stand in front of the TV, then I ask them nicely to “get their little rear ends up off the couch” and do as I ask. After that the television goes off and gentle reminders about lost privileges make their way into my vocabulary.
Like two little old lady spinsters they creak and crack as they drag their tanned legs from horizontal positions and messy July hair from pillows. Their faces are not happy, but
they obey.
Obedience requires the hard thing sometimes. Not the comfortable. Not the safe. Not the easy. But sometimes, the most difficult road. The path that takes me from my sunk-in, deeply-cocooned, pillow-piled existence toward obedience to Him is exactly where I need to be. It takes courage to obey because it’s so much safer here on the sofa: familiar, soft and warm.
The semi-dark, shade-drawn afternoon is nice for awhile but as soon as I’m called to obey, I must. I can’t stay in the dark with a quiet mind. I must act because my love-relationship with Him requires it.
Lord, let me be brave in my obedience today.
Have you ever been obedient when it took courage to do so?
agreed. obedience is never easy.
for me, coming back to a marriage in shambles (by that I mean pretty much dead) was scary and took some courage.
the kind of courage I had no idea lived in me.
many, many days I questioned the Lord…”is this REALLY what you want from me?” and He kept directing me back, regardless of the suffering that was taking place. Ke knew the final outcome.
and He honored the obedience.
oh man… yes. simply, yes. my counselor would remind me -or i her- that i always obey, if not immediately than eventually. and the time between the two has gron from years to months to days…thank god. and i’m to the point now where disobedience is just too uncomfortable and, i’ve learned, just.not.worth.it anymore. in this case, i was fixed up with someone a few weeks ago and i just know it’s a distraction from the path the lord has me on right now. in the past, i would justify it. (my favorite being “well, the lord knew! surely this (non-believing crackhead) is from god!” when i really knew the whole time it was, in fact, not. it sucks to be obedient (sometimes) but i am a sheep that has learned the hard way to know her shepherd’s voice and i know that the joy of pleasing him far surpasses any temporary satisfaction i may (or probably won’t) have in pleasing myself or another person.
mary kathryn
p.s. the crackhead-boyfriend only happened once when i was newly sober (because i’m the exception, of course). he wasn’t smoking crack at the time, though. you know. just in case you worried or wondered. (believe me, i judge myself for that one.)
yes i did…
)
saying ‘yes’ to the Lord and ‘no more contact ever’ to the gay relationship He was calling me to leave behind! He has been sooo very good and has shown me He really does know what is best for me and it really is sooo much better!
*Whiny voice* “But whyyyyyyy?”
have you been in my living room?
You betcha. Three years ago, I wrestled with having my family uprooted from our homestate to move three states away. No family. No friends. No support system to help me and my fiance at the time raise our son and set of twins. Talk about courage.
Yet, this move turned out to be one of the best decisions we could’ve ever made. I am learning that typically when I’m not obedient, that is where the real problems occur. When I think about it, every time God has asked me to do something, and I obeyed, I was blessed in some way. It all works out for the best, even when it doesn’t initially seem like it. You’d think I would take this and apply it each time He asks, but it isn’t always easy. I suppose that’s where courage comes into play.
Great post today.
You are right. Obedience is hard and scary sometimes.
For me in one instance it was the hardest thing that I have ever done. In the middle of a perfect storm, listen to that quiet voice, lay down my pride, risk losing everything and obey.
And instantly I knew it was the best thing I’ve done in my life.
What a great picture.
Yes, I’ve been there. The hard obedience is often when it doesn’t seem to be MY calling. Although I know ultimately it is. Advice from a good friend…. “Sometimes you just have to be a Sara and follow your husband where the Lord is calling HIM.”
That one was hard.
wow…what a great perspective and good piece of advice. that really makes me think….
Obviously, we talk a LOT about obedience around here. Something my sister and I were talking about is that we expect more from our kids than just obedience. There is an expectation to “see” what is needed before we ask them to. Dang, try that on for spiritual analogies. What is that whole, “if you see the right thing to do and don’t do it, you sin” (basically).
Not only can I drag my tail when it comes to obedience, I can decide not to “see” the “extra mile”
*sigh*
Love this:
I can’t stay in the dark with a quiet mind. I must act because my love-relationship with Him requires it.
Obedience is better than sacrifice… sometimes it is so hard, but God does require it and we will be blessed for it.
Thanks Sarah!
Yes! Obedience does take a step of faith and strength from the Lord. I love what Nikki said about God honoring obedience. I forget that sometimes. I think GRACE and use that as a means to stay in my state of rebellion…
One of the more recent times of obedience in the wee hours of the morning…well, like 6 a.m. (which is wee hours to me!)…my husband was getting ready for work and I’m usually in pleasant, cozy slumber but I couldn’t sleep.
“Go to your husband”…”Really, God? I’m tired!” I didn’t want to crawl out of bed. I didn’t want to face the music. I didn’t want to talk. “Go to your husband.” After a few more times, I couldn’t resist.
I went downstairs and said “God told me to come down here!”
It ended up being a bitter sweet time as we discussed past hurts and pain…things weighing heavy on my husband’s mind…things he kept locked up inside…
I was so tired and out of energy…I just listened! What a concept! And that’s exactly what he needed…
Even the smallest step of obedience can reap bountiful blessings…
That whhhyyyy sound is a common occurence in my house. I find it hard to stay patience xxx
*thank you* really needed to hear this as today I reached saturation point and wanted to give up!
[...] Brave Obedience | Sarah Markley [...]
Thank you for our prayer today, to be brave in our obedience to Him. Obedience requires trust, doesn’t it? So I better pray for more of that too!
God bless you and your obedience today! deb
I grew up in an abusive household. My father was an alcoholic who sexual abused me. My mom “suspected things”, but never stepped in to protect me. After a couple years of good counseling and some long talks with God, I was able to forgive my father – for everything! I know my dad is really sorry (I confronted him several years ago before I had children to set some boundries). I knew since I was able to forgive these things that God wanted me to tell my dad what I had done. Telling my dad that I forgave him was even harder than actually forgiving him. He actually cried and let out a huge sigh. It was like a physical weight had been lifted from him. I told him that I want him to forgive himself and ask God to forgive him, so he could drop the baggage and move on. I know he carries lots of other weights around, but it felt good to invite him to free himself from this bondage. Because of God’s amazing grace, my dad and I have the ability to experience true freedom!
Yes. And I have been disobedient when it took courage to do so.
It has occured to me that I really ought to explain my courageous disobedience.
When my grandmother was near the end of her life, she couldn’t get around so well. Time does that. Some people in my family got, well, rather impatient with her. But I love my grandmother with all my heart. So I didn’t like it very much that people were not treating her with the respect she deserved — and had earned. So I let them know that I wasn’t very happy about the way they were treating her. When they got upset, in a “mind your own business” manner, and called to let me know just how upset they were, I said that she deserved better.
That was the first, and only, time I ever hung up on my father.
He got the message. And so did my stepmother, of course, who I think was the catalyst behind all the negativity.
So I suppose, in my infuriation, I was disobedient to my father by sticking up for my grandmother.
Seven months after that, she passed away.
On my birthday.
I’m not sure, but I think that was her way of honoring me…
i don’t think that’s disobedient at all…
I was arrogant, impatient, self-righteous, and unmerciful. In my anger, I sinned.
The end does not justify the means.
My sinful nature twisted my hunger and thirst for righteousness, which led to anger instead of mercy and a pure heart.
(You can read more about this kind of thing in Archives: Nov 2007: When Lightening Strikes. Sorry for not leaving a link: BlackBerry, and all that.)