Over the past few weeks if you’ve been reading, we’ve struggled through brokenness to surrender. We’ve wrestled with trust and faith. Today, we will seek to stand upon our faith and move to obedience. It’s the next step we’ll take together as we strive to be women found on our knees at the feet of our Savior. I hope you are enjoying this journey. We have tackled some difficult issues and been forced to face some painful things, but I pray that as you move from brokenness to surrender, from trust to faith, that God is revealing Himself to you along the way, engulfing you in His presence, and pouring out His matchless love upon you. Being a Christ follower is a high calling, one that requires we represent Him well. Obedience is key. Join me as we dive into the riches of God’s Word and together seek to walk in His ways.
Walking in obedience may be a phrase that you’ve heard often in the church. Or perhaps you aren’t so acquainted with these words. Either way, I think it’s a phrase that needs some light to be shed on it. What does it really mean to walk in obedience? What does it look like lived out? I was just as curious as you probably are, so I began to search through God’s Word to find some clarity, the greatest source of truth. I did a simple word search for the word “walk”. Now, I don’t know about you, but I love to study God’s Word! Give me several hours, a big table strewn with books, commentaries, the Bible, something to write with, and a large cup of coffee and you will find a very happy Cherie. I just love the treasures I find as I dig into His Word. I come thirsty, and the water I receive satisfies. It’s an amazing thing. There were numerous verses that came up by just searching for the word “walk”, but what I found to be most interesting was that the word “walk” was often found within the phrase “walk in His ways”. What’s even more fascinating is that several of these verses were found in the book of Deuteronomy alone. Let me just list a few of them for you. Grab your Bible, and let’s do a little Bible study, shall we?
Deuteronomy 5:33 – “Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”
Deuteronomy 10:12 – “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 26:17 – “You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, that you will keep His decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey Him.”
Deuteronomy 28:9 – “The LORD will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.”
Deuteronomy 30:16 – “For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
Over and over again we see the phrase “walk in His ways”. It is important to notice that each time, the phrase is imperative. This is a command, not a suggestion. To be quite honest, I don’t think that God offers us many suggestions in His Word. He says, and we do; end of discussion. He requires our obedience. Anything less is sin. It is His desire that we walk as He walked, do as He did, speak as He spoke, and love as He loved. He calls us to obedience.
So, we can see that this is a very serious issue, one that we must get a grasp on. Walk in his ways. So, what are His ways? The good news is that God didn’t leave us empty-handed. Throughout the Bible we can see God’s ways demonstrated, especially through the life of Christ in the four gospels. In complete perfection, Jesus Christ displayed justice, love, mercy, and humility among numerous other characteristics as He walked the face of this earth. He is our model. We are to imitate Him. We are to walk in His ways. Obedience to God’s Word is key for every Christ follower. We must read His Word, abide by it, meditate on it, stand upon it, and live it. That is what it means to walk in His ways.
There was a particular season in my own life when the LORD called me to obedience, and I found it difficult to walk in His ways. Perhaps you can relate. It was easy for me to talk the talk, but when it came down to walking the walk, well that was a different story. I knew I was supposed to trust the LORD, knowing that wherever He would lead me He would also go with me and that I would not ever be left alone without His presence. Still, it was hard to take that first step of obedience, not being able to see what was ahead. As I chose to walk in obedience and go where He was calling me to go, yes, there was pain as I had to let go of all that I had been holding on to, but even more so I was reminded of His blessing that always follows obedience. When we choose to walk in His ways and be obedient to His Word, blessing naturally follows. That is just His way. He is a good God, and out of His love He chooses to bless obedience.
What does this look like for you right now in your life? What particular obedience might the LORD be calling you to? Might I encourage you again, dear sister, to walk in His ways. The LORD will bless your obedience.
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
1. Are you one that struggles with obedience? Do you find it difficult to obey?
2. How have you seen past disobediences bring suffering into your life?
3. What is one area of disobedience in your life that you can commit to the Lord today?
4. Journal a prayer of commitment to the Lord, offering Him the past and choosing to obey Him with your present and your future.
MY TRUE STORY OF MY ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
I confessed {ROMANS 10:9)” That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Je’sus, and shalt believe in thine heart that GOD hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”. I gave my life to JESUS at the tender age of 14, and about two weeks later this is what happened to me. On one morning in late 1986, I was getting up and I was on my way to use the restroom and saw that everybody was sound asleep. Right across my room was the restroom, and as I begin to walk toward the restroom, I heard the spirit of GOD say to me, “Look in your hand”. I began to say back to the spirit of GOD, “Why would I look in my hand?” Then the spirit of GOD spoke for the second time, “I said look in your hand”. By now I am still talking back to the spirit of GOD and looking up at the ceiling because I didn’t know what was going on. I was only 14 years old when this happened to me, so as you can imagine, I was frightened. So for the third and final time the spirit of GOD’s voice got louder and louder! HE said to me, “I said to look in your hand!!!” This time I looked at my right hand and I saw what looked like a puddle of blood, but here’s the thing: it was not bleeding. (EXODUS 3:2-3) “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.3. And Mo’ses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”Then, right in the center of my right hand I noticed that GOD had put a beautiful cross there!
By now I had gone to my mother’s room and knocked as hard as I could on her door and when she opened the door and saw my hand, the only thing she was saying was Oh my God! Oh my God! We did not know what to do, so we just decided to pick up the phone book and call up some of our local pastor’s to tell them what had happened to me. My mother and I came across a particular pastor in Newnan, Georgia, and we decided to call him. My mother started to tell this pastor about all that had happened to me, and this is what the pastor told my mom: “Tell your daughter to show as many people as she can. The pastor also told my mother that GOD had ‘Marked your daughter’. It was so amazing and so touching that GOD had chosen me to put a cross in my right hand, and yes this is a true story! I just Love spending time every day in GOD’s Word and prayer, drawing closer to GOD with each passing day, (PSALM 141:2) “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” JESUS CHRIST is my passion!! I just Love Him with every little heart beat and with every breath and with every step I take every day, I’m always over joyed when witnessing to others and sharing the Love of CHRIST! JESUS has worked so many miracles in my life, one of the miracle is that I was a still born baby and JESUS raised me back to life again to do His will here on earth, GOD has a plan for us all {JEREMIAH 29:11} “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Another miracle that JESUS did in my life was in 1993 my husband and I lost our first child but I believed with all my heart that by faith JESUS was going to bless my husband and I with more children [HEBREWS 11:1}” Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.} So, in 1994 GOD blessed us to have a baby boy! And then in 1995 GOD blessed us to have a baby girl! This is just to name a few of the many miracles that JESUS has done in my life! {ROMANS 5:8} “But GOD commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, CHRIST died for us.” JESUS gave us His all and I want to give Him my all, HIS sacrifice shows how deep His Love is for us, and when I think about just how deeply HE Loves us tears just fall from my eyes. I am so happy that one day I will see Him and live with Him forever!
God Bless You!:-)