Becoming

My word, it is good to be home on my blog again. Hello, world. And welcome.

Well, if you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you have seen me posting regularly the posts that I have NOT been able to post HERE. I will be moving those over slowly to this page. Bear with me, a work in progress.

The last two days of a @hopewriters 10 day post craze passed me by. The last word has stuck with me though, and the mental gymnastics began on Tuesday. It began with 1 Samuel 15. (My husband would probably say it began a lot sooner than that…) Anyway, this is the story of Saul and his decision to disobey a clear order from the LORD. You can read about it yourself, but my new friend, Sarah, was speaking that night. And the LORD spoke directly to me.

Obedience to me has always been a, because I said so, or because the Bible tells me so, that may sound passive. It’s not. It’s my strong, iron will. If you lead, if you parent, if you direct, you have choices. You can push your will on people, or you can guide them, show them and walk with them. Obedience to me always raises my hackles. That word.

And this week I saw, the disobedience of Saul not just as disobedience, but the LORD’s heart being crushed.

Obedience to the LORD is part of my love for HIM. Maybe it’s just me, however, I’ve never really deeply thought about following His precepts as loving HIM. Oh, worship, prayer, reading the WORD. That’s loving HIM. Obedience? Didn’t put it together in this skull.

So, for the rest of the week, there has been a shift in my mind, (I’m not perfect, so it’s not ideal, lets not get crazy, here!) am I loving the LORD with my words? My actions? My speech? My heart? It’s a different spin in my mind.

I come to the LORD with a heavy heart often, I would love to be home full-time again and I’m sure there are many of you out there that have other hurts and wishes that the LORD would fill. What if my minute by minute responses to Him were actually love and worship? Maybe it’s a crazy thought. The LORD knows my heart. He knows my deep desires.

And I know His. He wants my heart. He wants my choices to reflect His heart. My words to be reflective of His word. My thoughts like His thoughts.

There are six things the Lord hates.
    There are seven things ·he cannot stand [^Lthat are an abomination to his soul]:
^1W7     ·a proud look [haughty eyes],
    a lying tongue,
    hands that ·kill [^Lspill the blood of] innocent people,
¹⁸ a ·mind [heart] that thinks up evil plans,
    feet that are quick to ·do [^Lrun to] evil,
¹⁹     a witness who lies,
    and someone who starts ·arguments [conflicts; fights] among·families [brothers; Ps. 133]. Proverbs 6:16-19

Expanded Bible (EXB)The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.

Sometimes, we don’t know. Ahhh, but then sometimes we have it clearly spelled out. Proverbs spells it out. So, all seven of those bullet points? We run the opposite way.

Instead, we are humble. We are honest. We set people free. We create good plans. We have plans that run to good and bring good news (Isaiah 52:7). We are a true witness who breathes out life. And finally, we spread love and justice and unity among our fellow sisters and brothers.

Amen? Amen. So good to be back. Leave a comment or let me know this worked.