Obedience

It's a word we do battle with from a very young age.

Our parents want us to obey for many reasons...to keep us safe & grow up healthy.

The laws call for us to follow them... to avoid anarchy & chaos.

The Lord desires our hearts obey His call...to bring fullness of joy.

Any yet, we buck obedience daily. Our sinful nature fights against obedience. Why? It seems we think we know what's best for us. 

It started in the garden...ONE rule...just ONE...it should have been easy to follow, right? I mean, how hard can it be to just NOT eat from ONE tree when there is an ENTIRE garden FULL of trees & plants you can eat from. And yet, that is exactly what Adam & Eve did. 

God created us with a will to choose..and that first disobedient choice has led to a lifetime of choices for each one of us. Obedience goes against our sinful-willful-self centered nature that entered each of us on that fateful day.

How do we remain obedient? How do we stand strong against those temptations...the ones that make soooo much sense & sound so good? I would love to know what went through Eve's thoughts as she debated eating that ONE forbidden fruit.

Did she battle against herself, ask the Lord for a sign, wonder why she couldn't eat it, reach for it only to draw back yet reach for it again, turn to walk away then look back over her shoulder, cry out to God, rationalize that God really only told Adam not her...what went on in her mind as she made that choice?

I know for me many times when God calls me to obedience...doesn't really matter what area of my life it is...I find myself doing all of the above as I struggle to obey His call, His desire, His will & bring my heart into obedience. 

Yet...at times...I fall short of a heart of obedience..

How do we handle our disobedience? Do we hide in shame as Adam & Eve did? Do we blame someone else as they did? OR do we pick ourselves up, acknowledge what we've done, ask His forgiveness & begin again with a heart of obedience?

I'd like to think that I do the latter when I stumble & fall into disobedience..that I seek out my Heavenly Father & His forgiveness rather than believe the enemies lies and hide in shame from the ONE who loves me. Or worse yet...blame someone else for my choice, my decision, my disobedience.

Lord, May I always trust in You with all my heart, not leaning on my own understanding, acknowledging You in everything that You may make my crooked paths straight. Leading me straight to You & Your will & Your hearts' desire for my life.