In Obedience

“Anna…!”—yes, that’s my real name—“…get your feet off the stove! You’re going to burn yourself!” 4-year-old me glances back at my mom defiantly, who at this point is leaning forward on the couch, waiting to see if I’ll obediently remove my tiny, wiggly little feet from the top of our roaring pellet stove. As you could probably guess, I instead purposed to do as I very-well pleased, thinking something along the lines of: “Thanks Mom, but I’m a big girl and it’s not burning me right now—and my feet are already all the way at the top!” 

So… as any sass-filled child would do, I challenged her wisdom by placing my hands behind my head, leaning back onto the floor, and continuing to keep my feet propped up at the very top of the pellet stove. “I’ll make sure not to burn myself…” as if proving my mother wrong in this situation would have made it any better. She proceeds to warn me again and much to MY surprise, my foot slipped, aggressively throwing itself at the searing hot glass of the pellet stove. Quickly, my Mom picked me up and took care of the newly formed wound birthed by my own self-sufficient defiance, as hot tears of regret streamed down my face.

You might be able to see where I’m going with this, especially if you have children of your own. How often do we as children of God rely on our own self-sufficiency over the commands, instruction, wisdom, and voice of the Lord? How often do we consciously or subconsciously claim to know better than His perfect heart? How often do we take matters into our own hands in the name of the Lord in order to really pursue our own preferences and lackadaisical comfort? 

God used this passage in Matthew to beautifully convict me through a vision:

Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

In the vision, I was the lamp in the middle of the room. He came and lit the wick of the lamp in order to light the entire space. In my own wisdom, me as the lamp, instead chose to cover the flame with a large bowl, extinguishing the majority of the light in the room. 

You see, it’s quite simple. Everything has been freely given to us. Every work that Jesus accomplished on the cross is still paid for and is still finished today. The promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is still available to us today. However, this vision reminded me of this: We cannot remain hidden from the world. In our submission to fear, lies, shame, and our own pride, we willingly attempt to cover ourselves in the name of self-preservation just as Adam and Eve once did. (Genesis 3:7)

Yet, the ways of the Kingdom are not conducive to a self-preservation gospel. In fact, the gospel that exalts self vehemently and aggressively fights against the exaltation of Christ. There is only one King, and I unapologetically urge all of us who call Jesus Lord of our lives to view Him as such.

In our present reality, light is exposing darkness that has been deeply rooted for generations. To those who don’t know Christ, all hope appears to be lost. Even when standing up for righteousness, some have done so in submission to fear and some in response to their own self-righteous anger. However, we as the people of God not only celebrate the darkness being revealed, but we must continue to obediently seek Him and follow in His ways.

In John 14:15 when Jesus promises the Holy Spirit, he says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments…”

When our hearts are toward Him and in obedience to Him, our belief is strengthened; in our strengthened belief, our obedience increases. Obedience to Him MUST thrive, as the Church will face persecution, and in many places, it already is. If we believe in ourselves and our own capabilities more than we believe in God and His statutes, our obedience to Him will suffer as a direct result. 

People of God, I simply say this to encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Him. No matter the darkness ahead, no matter the persecution, keep your gaze set on the victorious and loving King of Kings. When evil is revealed, I encourage you to intercede and come into agreement with HIS desired plans over an organization, situation, or person. 

Ephesians 6:12 blatantly tells us that “ …we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” So, we are not to dishonor God’s heart and intention for all of creation through the shaming and uncovering of others. God will have the final say, and it is His job to usher in His righteous judgement to the world, not our own. 

So… let us intercede in obedience to His commission to us as those who bring the ministry of reconciliation wherever we go. Let us obediently search His Word and spend time alone with Him. Let us obey His voice when He prompts us to step out. Yes, let us be obedient in standing for what’s righteous and holy in His eyes, AND let us love all and pray all—those who are walking with Him and those who are not. 

The glory of our own opinions and preferences will never stand, but His glory and honor will eternally prevail. Let us not give our attention to His voice just to defiantly turn away to do what’s right in our own eyes (like I did with my mom), rather let’s remain fixed on Him.

Love you all! I’m praying for you. 

—Anya