Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Miracle

I was praying for a miracle and I got one.
       The waters did not part.
             The dead was not brought back to life.
                    Angels did not descend from above.

But

God answered a request. He always does. This time it was not in a way I expected, but it was an answer because what I thought was insurmountable is now possible.
                     The situation made me pray.
              The situation made me plead.
       The situation made me quote scripture and hold God to his promises.
The situation made me groan.

Without the situation
I wouldn't have known the richness of prayer.
The vulnerability of pouring my heart out.
The hope that came because of prayer.
I had somehow forgotten the tangible goodness of a Holy God.

Though the situation looked bleak, I thank God for the situation and for once more allowing me to know He is real.
Source

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:8

Have you witnessed any miracles lately? Do you see miracles in the ordinary? Has God come through for you recently in a way you didn't expect?


Monday, July 22, 2013

Is Delayed Obedience Disobedience?

"Delayed obedience is disobedience." Once I became aware of this phrase I used it at every turn to make my children obey me immediately. There was some frustration on my part, as I wanted what I said to be done instantly and without question. I had a selfish motive and I don't think that was the intention of this phrase.


Obedience often indicates a relationship. Obedience is defined as:
  1. Compliance with someone's wishes or orders or acknowledgment of their authority. 
  2. Submission to a law or rule.

Within the family, typically the parent does have the child's best interest at heart and unquestionable obedience is what most parents want. (I did not want to reason with a 2 yr old).

However as a child gets older, they may question your request. I don't necessarily think this is wrong as it depends on how and why. We can question and reason with God, not to do things our way but to do what He asks of us.

As a parent, if I'm honest there are some things that are requested that warrant questioning. I know for me, I did many things because this is what my parents did, but if a child questioned me, it made me stop and think and sometimes change my requests.

After you have reasoned everything out, once you are told to do something and it is the right thing to do, you should do it. Don't delay further in your response because ultimately obedience reveals the motives of your heart;  delayed obedience is disobedience.

As it relates to spiritual matters - delayed obedience to God is indeed disobedience. He always has our best interest at heart even though we don't always know it. Scripture tells us - to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is a sin (James 4:17).  Also, to obey is better than to sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). In this instance, Saul took matters into his own hands and did what he thought was right, and in that very instance, lost his kingship.

This makes it seem like God is a, "Because I said so" God or He's holding a big stick over us and we're quivering fear. In the human realm, this can happen because we are not perfect like God is. But God sincerely has our best interests at hearts - He blesses and disciplines us with the sole purpose of molding us more into his character. If more people had Godly character, well,...... that would be heaven.

We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

Do you struggle with obedience to anyone, to God? Do you have a hard time submitting?




Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Blogloving

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2641196/?claim=5n4n9kwtter">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

There may be lots you do not know about the Blog world. One of the easiest ways to stay caught up with blogs is to place them in a reader - in this way you don't have to bookmark the page or try to remember the URL. Since the demise of Google Reader, Blogloving is what I use to read and follow blogs.

This is a WIP; I'll be back with proper links.