Tag: obedience

Is God Your First Or Last Call?

God s call

“Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?”

Job 5:1

This word first came to me last week when I heard a sermon by Bishop T.D. Jakes. God bless His messengers all over the world! Then it came again to me by another through bible study. God is so thorough.

I remember as a child, when a stranger approached you, you know to turn towards your mother, or father, or guardian that you were familiar with. Or if a person gave you some sort of gift or present, you went to a guardian first to show them before proceeding to open it or keep it or what have you. That was my story at least.

As you grow up, you become a little more independent, trusting more and more in your own wisdom and authority. Sadly, many of us have gotten ‘too grown’ to call on our Father first before taking a step in a direction.

Friend, the Spirit told me to ask you today, “Is God your first or last call?”

I can think of one too many people I know that try to keep God in the backseat while they drive their own worldly desires. They count on their own wisdom and knowledge and fail to check in with the Maker of their destiny. It’s as though we rely on our own understanding until…

When that opportunity, or friendship, or courtship, is first presented to us, the idea of what could be based on our own sight, is often good enough to accept what is brought to us. Unknowingly, the road ahead is a dead-end. Unknowingly, the dream promised is a nightmare. Unknowingly, the friendship offered is motivated by mischief…God could have told us that. If we first called Him who knows all…but we don’t.

See the thing about many believers and disciples, is that we sometimes forget that He who is, was, and is to come, is the beginning and the end. God knows the bad breaks ahead even before we embark on the path. And I can’t help but wonder if we too, would be blessed to walk in the wisdom of God if only we call Him first. Ask Him first. Consult Him first!

I thank God for His mercy and grace that nothing we could ever do or say counts us out from God’s own divine purpose.

But friend, I can’t help but wonder what glory you and I continue to miss as we fail to call God first. Why is God our last option, not our first? Why are we so eager to talk to this one, and that one, and ask for guidance from this person, then that person, but not God first?!

Is He not the Maker of heaven and earth?!

Is He not the ‘Great I am?’!

Is He not the author and finisher of our race?!

Is He not GOD?!!!

So why is GOD our last call? Why should things be chaotic or miserable before we call on our heavenly Father?

I wonder if the blessings that God promised would pour down like rain if we call Him first before we say ‘Yes’ to any other. The word in Matthew 6 vs 33, says,

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…” with emphasis on FIRST.

I know as one in a place of solitude that seeking God first is a must for anyone who wants to see the fullness of God in His glory. And I understand the temptations all around us. Believe me, I get it. But the thing about that, is that the enemy gets it to.

And one might think that the subtle little steps we take towards our ambition does not have to be based on God. But I am here to remind you that it does. EVERYTHING you do has to do with HIM who gave you life to do it!

I pray to God in His All-knowing, All-capable wisdom, to grant us the understanding we crave to walk closer to Him and with Him to receive all that has been prepared for us by the Creator in Jesus name. Amen.

Obey God First.

obedience

“Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5

Today, I ran into a friend of mine, a young lady who is a believer like myself. She is also in her very early 20s like me so we relate on many things. In the brief encounter that we had, we began talking about her relationship to her boyfriend and potential life partner whom she had met in her early teenage years.

“Seven years,” she said vulnerably. “But I remember the prophesy given to me that the man I will marry will walk with God, but he (her boyfriend) doesn’t really care.”

I truly felt her vulnerability. But I could not disobey the spirit and speak against what we both know is inevitable – the will of God on your life is the only thing that is unshaken. She further confessed to me that she was in the middle of a fasting period where she is looking to God for guidance. Is it time to walk away from a seven-year relationship?

I then re-assured her that we serve an intentional God whose instructions are very clear. That’s right. Like another good friend of mine would say, “God is not a God of confusion.”

Perhaps we are the ones who get tangled in our web of disobedience and uncertainty because we are living by sight and not by faith like we ought to. Surely, I feel my girlfriend’s pain. The thought alone is like an hammer in the middle of one’s chest.

But I asked her if she would rather live with disobeying God’s word and doing what she thinks her heart agrees with or obey the maker of all things and trust that His way is indeed perfect. Sometimes, our feelings hinder our faith in God. Thus, some (very important) decisions, like saying yes to be married to a man because of your love for him, or saying yes to obey God because of His Great love for us, CANNOT be based just on how we feel. We all know feelings are flimsy because so many factors (many that are out of our control) often affect how we feel.

This is when we must succumb to our spirit. Let your spirit decide. Because that spirit works with God. “God the father, the son, and the holy spirit,” is not just a mantra to reiterate during a prayer. It is what we know to be true. God purposefully placed His powerful and anointed spirit in you because of his unconditional love and affection for you. The spirit in you is an indication of God’s favor on your life. He wants to lead and guide you from the inside out so you surely will not tremble or stumble ‘through the valleys of the shadow of death.’

As I said to my friend before I hugged her goodbye, prayer is key. Let God show you. He ordained your path even before you were born so only He knows the way you must go to remain in alignment with Him. And it is Him who said, “all things work together for the good of those who love Me.”

So what is God possibly telling you to walk away from today friend? Is it a love relationship? A toxic friendship? A negative job environment? An addiction? Open your ears and receive instruction so you can obey. The reward of obedience is beyond bountiful as the Word testifies.

In Psalms, we learn that when you obey God, not only will you walk in the light of His countenance, your seeds shall also be mighty upon the earth and even your children’s children shall be blessed. So why are we still so hesitant about obeying the clear directions of the Most High God?

My prayer for you today is that the Lord of Hosts in his infinite wisdom and mercy renews your spiritual sight to show you what step is next in your faithful journey. May He also give you the serenity to turn away from the noise that hinders your hearing of his Word in Jesus Name. Amen.