Lady Lessons: Immediate Obedience

"Jen, go clean your room!" my mom instructed. "Can I please have a few more minutes?" I'd plead. Eventually I stopped asking for her to wait, because every time I did "immediate obedience" was her reply. Needless to say, she said "immediate obedience" a lot with 6 kids! She explained to me more than once, that postponing her requests wasn't really obedience at all. I needed to do it when she asked.

Well, I've been learning the same thing in my spiritual life recently. Lately God has called me to do certain things and like my mom, He wanted me to obey His call. When He speaks I can do two things: obey right then or wait for a little while. Though I am often temped to wait, God's word makes it pretty clear that waiting equates rebellion. Think about Jonah...he thought that God couldn't really ask him to go to Nineveh, so he didn't respond to the call. After spending a while in the belly of a fish, he did what God wanted. But was it obeying? Not really. Even thought Jonah thought God was crazy for wanting to spare the people of Nineveh, God's ways were higher than he could comprehend. It's the same with me.

Since January, God has been teaching me immediate obedience. He has given me tasks and directions that seem huge and crazy, but every time He has proven that He knows what He's doing. He enables me to do His will. He called me not to buy clothes, shoes, jewelry or anything like that for 9 months, He called me to work on a project that turned into Compassion's Cry, and then He told me to quit my job. In everything He wanted me to take a step of faith and simply obey Him. It's been pretty scary sometimes, but in every instance He has made it all work out better than I ever imagined.

Who would have thought that my mom's little saying would prove to be so profound later in life...



Jennifer Blair is a pretty lady full of a heart that seeks and thirsts after God. Whether it's worshiping God with her voice and guitar or keeping us accountable through her Difference Project, Jennifer reflects the qualities of a godly woman in all aspects of her life (including her marriage). Jen will be going on a missions trip to Ethiopia soon and she's selling some gorgeous headbands to raise money. Needless to say, go check Jennifer's blog out!
[see more of this series here]