Oh crud.
Like me, have you ever had an “oh-crud moment” when you knew what you were supposed to do, but you didn’t do it?
It can happen when you know you should respond lovingly, but you still go for the low blow with your words.
It can happen when you sense Holy Spirit saying not to look at a social media thread, but there you go anyway.
It can happen when you’re sure that God wants you to share Jesus with people, and then you just don’t.
It can happen when you feel called in a certain direction and then just trash that prompting.
My “oh-crud moment” didn’t just happen blatantly; it happened casually…
You see, my son kept coming in my room before his bedtime. Beforehand, my husband and I had made it EXPLICITLY clear that, before bed, we didn’t want him to keep coming in our room and asking us questions, because we needed time to wind-down.
Yet, there he was — jumping on our bed.
“Son,” I said. “Please go to your room and I will be there shortly to say goodnight.”
He kept jumping.
“Son, please listen and head to your room to read a book.”
He, like a slow turtle, made a move towards the edge of the bed.
“Son, we love you very much, but we also don’t want to ask again!”
We had asked 3 times. And…that’s when it hit me — Oh my goodness, delayed obedience is straight-up disobedience.
Just as I shouldn’t have to ask my son more than once, God shouldn’t have to ask me more than once. If I find it horribly disrespectful and dishonoring to have to ask my son repeatedly, how much more does God feel about my abandoning His leading and disobeying his prompting?
Oh crud.
“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (Ja. 4:17)
Conviction fell on me. My Lord shouldn’t have to ask, me, His servant, more than once.
I am sorry, Father.
After apologizing to God, there was still a bugging, pressing question annoying me. It was this: Can I really change? Can I really start listening and stop disobeying?
Friends, I have done a lot of — not listening. I want to honor God, but for some reason I am afraid I won’t obey when he wants me to.
I think Paul understood, ” I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” (Romans 7:15-17)
And here is where Paul gives us powerful wisdom. If I am hyper focused on my sin-nature, all I will see is the nature of my sin. But, if I am walking in the abundant and equipping nature of His grace, I will be empowered by it.
God has all we need to help us go right, do right and love right, by the power of His might.
All we need to do is to ask for His help and to be willing to go a new way.
Prayer: Father, I want your help to obey. Franky, I need your help to obey. I want to honor you in everything I do. I pray that any spirit of fear that keeps me from following you, be bound. I pray that any pride that preserves my flesh, be brought low. I pray that any part of me that doubts myself, would be healed. I ask for all the grace I need to honor you in word, in thought, and in deed, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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