Two years ago I did a fast, and the second day into that fast God said to me “I’m going to move you into a new thing”. I thought it looked one way, but it of course looked another and here we are today – running a ministry, living a dream I never thought possible… after stepping out in faith. After being obedient to the call, not knowing anything – other than I needed to be obedient to Him.
In the many steps between then and now I have found obedience is often founded in the small whispers and invitations He brings into our ordinary moments. It’s not a big voice or momentous, it’s the constant and consistent small choices we make along the way that lead us to those bigger moments in our lives.
It’s in our training ground where we learn to hear His voice clearly – where we test out our obedience and see His faithfulness is sturdy ground and we keep walking it out, in faith. Our obedience is learnt in the small steps, it’s learnt because it is practiced. For us, stepping out from a church family we completely adored (and still do!), from a job within a team I loved being a part of and from co-leading a worship team I still call my family on one hand was the hardest thing, but His peace accompanied the request and we gave way to it. So we said, Yes. A huge part of my heart was always to invest in our deep set passion for equipping and encouraging Worship Pastors and Worship Leaders but I thought I was doing that where I was – and to a degree this was my field, I learnt how to love and become confident with speaking so freely. He knew this desire, and saw the need was greater than the community we had settled into. And at the time we didn’t know what we were stepping into, and in many ways we’re still seeking Him for our next step and trusting He’s got a whole path mapped out! Our obedience in the small, the seemingly insignificant… all those years of being faithfully present and learning along the way has positioned us for His favour in our future. When we made a decision to steward our Yes to only His requests we learnt quickly the One who promised, He is faithful.
We have had many opportunities presented before us, and it’s in those moments where I so desperately want to go with what makes sense or what works for me or where I think would be the best opportunity… yet in His gracious love for us, He has shown me obedience matters more than opportunity. He is the giver of opportunity and He will always open the doors He deems fit for His purposes – even when they appear closed or unattainable! I just have to position myself in His presence, be willing to hear (even on the whispers that are so slight even I’m not 100% certain they weren’t just a bunch of random thoughts!!!) and trust He has got this.
There’s something so precious found in the blessing poured out when we are truly obedient. A friend of mine was fasting sugar, but God had asked her to fast coffee – her second number one. She took it in her own strength and fasted sugar anyway and on multiple occasions throughout the fast He kept whispering to her, “Obedience inherits the full blessing”. As we reflected together on what He was trying to say she realised it wasn’t about the coffee, it was about her being obedient. It’s in our obedience He weaves His greatest blessings, and they unfold in ways we never expect. I’ve had those moments too, where I compromised what He has for me out of fear, or out of stubbornness and pride. My heart breaks, it’s in those moments I see Moses on the mountain, unable to enter the promised land and my heart cries, “I want the promised land, don’t let me be disobedient, I don’t want to miss it!!!”. Disobedience is part of our human nature, we think we know best. But wouldn’t it be great if we surrendered over and over again and let Him reign. Favour rests in the space of obedience.
And you know what? Sometimes obedience is hard, it costs us something. Worship is costly. Living a life for Him will always require us giving away part of ourselves, our will. When we give ourselves away to the cause of the Kingdom He bestows so much on us. More than we deserve or ever dream of!
I’ve found this repeating pattern when I read peoples lives in the Bible. it always follows this loop:
Training – Favour – Opportunity – Opposition – Strengthen Character (now repeat).
This loop falls under the mantle of Obedience. It’s only in obedience we respond to the training ground, when we are obedient we gain favour and with favour comes opportunity. With opportunity, opposition arrives and when we are obedient again our character is strengthened and we begin another cycle. Obedient hearts only come when we are in a trusting relationship with God. When we surrender our will to His. And when we agree His agenda is better than our own. So sweet one, what is God asking you to be obedient with? How is He challenging you to listen to Him more? To Trust Him more? Steward your life in obedience, He is waiting for your Yes.
until next time … xox