Step Two in Radical Obedience

So I know a few of us are on the same journey here. We're hearing the same call toward obedience. I figure we should just keep up our pace and continue plugging away, so here's day two of Radically Obedient, Radically Blessed. I am sure thankful Lysa TerKeurst wrote such a gem. I told ya this book changed my life!

"Whatever God says do, do it."

Have you ever experienced that urge to do something really crazy, something like, oh I don't know, adopt a child from a far away nation without any clue how you will afford it and how the whole thing will play out? You too! Awesome!

What if it's not as blatant a call. I need to confess that while I have been faithful to answer the call to adopt, I have been very disobedient about doing some other things I've felt the Lord tugging me towards in the past. You want an example? Well, once I felt that I ought to bake a bunch of goodies during Christmas and hand them all out to my neighbours with scripture attached to the gift tag. Next came the laundry list of reasons why that was a crazy idea. 1) you are no Betty Crocker, and you know it! 2) That's just weird these days! Who does that kind of thing? 3) They'd probably just throw them away 4) If they didn't throw them away they'd gag because of the awful taste, so just spare them. 5) It's a nice thing to do, yes, but it's optional. You can let this one slip by. It's no big deal.

Ladies. I am absolutely sure that I missed a HUGE opportunity to connect with my neighbours and ENCOUNTER my God. And, talk about consequences! I never did what I have come to believe now was a direct order form the Lord. I blew off the Holy Spirit. The biggest consequence of all is hardening my heart to the calling of the Spirit. Oh no! I certainly didn't intend for that to happen but it's a risk I took. You just can't ignore the Holy Spirit and not reap consequences.

Another consequence is this: My neighbours aren't very friendly with us (which, I think, was number 6 on my list... I just forgot to write that one down) and it might have been different if I had taken the step of faith and reached out to them in love. Unabashed, unashamed, gracious, outgoing, I'm gonna get you first, Christ-like love. The kind of love I know I'm called to share with the world through Christ who gives me strength. The kind of obedience that for shy (Yes, I am shy!!!!) me would be radical obedience. I hate unknowns. I hate putting myself in vulnerable situations, especially socially. This was one area of my life where I told the Lord, "Nope. Not gonna do it." It makes me so sad!

I am grieved over my disobedience. I am thankful God forgives me. I am glad, however, that He let me know deep down that that kind of behaviour is not acceptable to Him. I pray that the Lord will mature me more and more until the trend of my life is to be more obedient than not!