As the past few weeks rolled by, I've been noticing a reoccurring theme that people have had on their minds. Obedience to the will and call of God on one's life. I log into Twitter. It's there. I log onto Facebook. It's there. I randomly decide to watch a movie on Netflix entitled "What If?". It's even there. It's like a rash that won't go away, only it's not itchy. Or maybe like the mustache one get's after drinking fruit punch. Every time you go past a window or mirror, no matter how many times you try to rub it off, the image of your face is accompanied by a red fu-man-chu stain.
None the less, I finally asked, "Are you there God, it's me, Margret.....Ahem, I mean it's me, Cassy. What is it that you want me to see?"
It all started when I turned on the movie "What If?" The movie was about a man who was called to be a pastor, but instead of going to seminary, he made a choice to go to business school and pursue "success" and "happiness" without God. Needless to say, 15 yrs later he was a wealthy investment banker who made millions. He chose to walk through an open door, but not the one God had called him to. So after he bumped his head in a car accident, an angel came to him in the form of a mechanic (i know, i know) and showed him the life he would have had if he chose God's will for him, hence the title "What if?" He ended up realizing that God's choice was the best choice after all. At the end of the movie, he woke up back into the reality of what he originally chose. He ended up leaving investment banking and going to seminary, taking God up on His second-chance offer.
It's almost like It's A Wonderful Life, I know! But it really spoke to me, cheese and all. God knows best, even if we think He doesn't. There may be more than one open door presented to us, but our choice should be the one that we know God has called us to walk through (we prayed about it and He said yes). If we aren't obedient to what we know God is on, then we may find ourselves on a hamster wheel (with a very sick stomach and no peace, mind you). Let me put it to you this way. A wise person once said that if you birth something from the flesh, you have to maintain it in the flesh, but if you birth something from the Spirit (what God births for you), His spirit will maintain it for you. In lay-persons terms, when you try to do something without the go-ahead from God, you will eventually burn out because you yourself will have to do all the work. This means even if it looks like God or is a good opportunity that seems like it'll get you to your destiny!
But if you wait and walk through the door that God opens which says, "YES this is what I want you to do," His Spirit is all you need for maintenance.
Essentially, it's obedience to God that activates His strength. (El Sali)
"Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess." Deut. 11:8
We should expect that when we cross into the "land" He promised us, He will also provide His spirit to help grow and maintain the fruit. One of the big differences between the land of Egypt (the place of bondage where the Israelites came from) and the promised land was the source of water. (water and rain are a symbol of the Holy Spirit) In Egypt rain was so scarce that people had to toil and dig irrigation canals just to get water to the crops. This was a lot of hard labor just to get things to grow. But in the promised land, it just rained at the proper times and then the people gathered the harvest. Growing things that produced fruit were as simple as that.
"The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today- to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul---then I will send rain on your land in it's season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied." Deut. 11:10-15
Something that one shouldn't expect right away when walking into the promises of the Lord is to get everything all at once. Why, you ask? Because if we received it all at once, we wouldn't be able to handle it.
"The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you." Deut. 7:22
We receive the fruit of His promises bit by bit so we can grow and expand properly. So for those of you who are already walking in "the land," I bet you have a lot more territory to conquer.
When walking in obedience, there is one thing we must make certain we hear: HIS VOICE FOR OURSELVES. Not her voice, your dog's voice, your cat's voice, William Shatner's voice (although tempting...), or even someone else's voice we trust, telling us that God's voice is telling them what we should do and what door to go through (I am so out of breath right now). No my friends, we need to hear direction directly from God himself. Let me give you an example:
1 Kings 13 tells the story about a prophet of God giving a message to King Jeroboam, who was worshipping and sacrificing to pagan Gods on the altar in Jerusalem. The prophet spoke to the altar and said that God would raise up a child named Josiah who would burn all the pagan priests on it. As a sign, the prophet said that the alter would split apart and it's ashes would be spilled out. The King raised his hand to seize the prophet of God and as he did, his hand was paralyzed in that position, whilst the altar cracked and spilt out ashes. The King begged the prophet to ask God to restore his hand. The prophet prayed and his hand went back to normal. The king asked the prophet to eat, drink, and stay over before his journey back. But the prophet of God refused because he said God gave him this command: "You must not eat any food or drink or any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came." So the prophet left on his journey. Another old prophet heard of this man of God and sent went after him to fetch him. The old prophet asked the man to come back (to Bethel) and eat some food with him. The prophet of God told the old prophet the command God had given him about not eating or drinking or staying in the town. But the old prophet told the prophet of God, "I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this message from the Lord. 'Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink.' The old man was lying, but the prophet of God believed him and went back and ate and drank. Then a message came to the old prophet from the Lord, saying that the man of God would die because of his disobedience to Lord's message.
Needless to say, the man of God was eaten by a lion on the way home while his donkey looked on. The reason I shared this story from 1 Kings 13 was because of this blatant reason: Stick to what you know the Lord is telling you to do. Be obedient to HIS VOICE ALONE for yourself and not what someone else claims God is telling them to tell you to do. Even if they are a trusted friend, mentor, or pastor. They still do not replace your communication with God. I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't seek wisdom or counsel from a trusted friend or pastor, because you should. I'm not saying if you mess up a lion will eat you or a Wookie will shoot you with his intergalactic space gun. A word or piece of advice from someone else should line up with what you know in your spirit God has called and told you to do, as well as line up with the Word of God. When your decisions and choices have His "Yes" stamped on it, peace will accompany those decisions in your spirit.
Even I am at a cross-roads right now. There may be more than one open door, but my choice should be the one stamped with His "Yes". This means even if it looks like God or is a good opportunity that seems like it'll get me to my destiny, I still need to pray about those doors until I hear His answer for myself. And whatever His answer may be, I will gladly walk through it. I know if God told me to do it, He will provide for me, be my strength, and be my guide because it is His will and not mine.
"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind."
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