The Price of Obedience

I never thought I would move home after college. It's not that I don't love my family or that I didn't want to live in the town that I grew up in. Rather, by the time I graduated from high school, I was so dissatisfied with the church community in my town that I promised myself I would never have to deal with it again. I was done. I moved to Rochester, NY for college and there, I could visit a different church every Sunday if I wanted to. And they were all great. I was convinced that Rochester was where I would settle when I graduated.

But God had other plans for me.

After going on a few missions trips, I began to regularly pray, "Here I am, God. Send me." I assumed that God would send me to a faraway land and I would spend my twenties cuddling with orphans. Maybe in China or Africa or Guatemala?

But that's not where God sent me.

Nope, he sent me right back to my hometown, the very place I had promised myself I would never live again. I knew deep down that God was calling me home long before I officially decided to actually move there. But I didn't know why, so I was resistant. I didn't want to leave the comfort of Rochester, the comfort of an awesome church community and an established group of friends.

Obeying what God has called us to do isn't always easy.

Last week, I wrote about the Israelites in the book of Ezra. After 70 years of captivity, they packed their bags and headed back to their homeland to rebuild the temple. They obeyed God's initial calling. It was hard for them to leave the "comfort" of their captivity. Most of them had been born into it; it was all they had ever known. As we look further into their story, we learn that as they began to build the temple, their enemies set out to discourage them. Ezra 4:4 says that "the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building." Their enemies tried to instill fear into them. But that didn't work, so they took more drastic measures and wrote a letter to the king, claiming that the Jews were rebellious and wicked, that if their building continued, the kingdom would ultimately suffer. The letter worked and the building came to a standstill.

But God had other plans.

Though a decade without any building passed, a new king came into power and the Israelites once again began building.

I'll say it again: obeying what God has called us to do isn't always easy. There will be people in our lives who will say and do absolutely anything to try and stop us from doing what God has called us to do. And they might succeed at first. But isn't God the God of the universe? Didn't he create the naysayers and the rulers? Isn't he sovereign?

So if God wants something to happen, IT WILL HAPPEN.

There's nothing anyone can do to get in his way. And all he asks us to do is obey. To trust him. To believe that his plan is the best plan. To let his will be done.

So what's stopping us from obeying? Fear? Anxiety? Society?

• God says: Do not fear for I am with you. (Isaiah 41:10)
• God says: Cast all your anxieties on me for I am with you and I care for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
• God says: Take heart, for I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

And all I'm left to say is: Use me for your will, Father. I will obey.

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Foundations of Praise

It is so easy to complain. At this time of my life, a time of transition, change, and uncertainty, I find myself saying things like: Lord, why do you have me here?, Lord, I don't know what my future holds and I'm scared, and Lord, this isn't how I imagined life would be. In the past two months, I have graduated from college, moved back home, and started a new job. I've experienced a lot of change lately and I think God totally understands where I'm coming from.

I've been convicted, though, about all of this secret griping and it's gotten me thinking. What if instead of constantly complaining to God about how we're so busy, so uncertain, or so fearful, we praised him and thanked him in spite of it all? What if we praised God for where he has us now? What if we were thankful for the beginnings instead of waiting for the end result? What if we praised God so loudly that it was unmistakable, impossible not to notice?

I am beginning to realize that the true foundation of our faith must be praise. The very definition of faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing. Confidence and trust in Jesus. If we are truly living a life of faith, then we must be confident, trusting that the Lord goes before us, that he is sovereign, and that his plan is perfect. And if we are confident in his plan, then we can confidently praise him as it unfolds.

Look at the Israelites in the book of Ezra. After 70 years of captivity, God stirs in King Cyrus' heart to send them back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple.  After months of traveling, they finally arrive in their homeland, which is now occupied with enemies. Scary! Plus, they have a big task ahead of them. The temple back in the day was amazing. And it's up to them to bring it back to its former glory? Daunting. So what do they do? They build an alter, sacrifice burnt offerings, and celebrate. The foundation of their faith is praise.

Eventually, they begin building the temple and when the foundation is complete, they praise God some more! It's amazing, beautiful, a sight to behold. Ezra 3 says that they give a "great shout of praise" to God, saying "He is good; his love to Israel endures forever." This praise isn't some quiet praise either. No, it's loud! It's a great shout. Though the temple is no where close to being finished, they praise God that the foundation is complete. They praise God for the beginnings.

So I've been thinking: what if my first instinct wasn't to be too busy or too fearful or too uncertain? What if instead, my first instinct was to trust that my God is a sovereign God? What if my first instinct was to give a great, unmistakable shout of praise for the beginnings?

I can do two things: I can look at the foundation and say with uncertainty, "this is just a pile of bricks; it sure doesn't look like a glorious temple!" Or I could look at it and say loudly, with faith and trust, "WOW GOD. Look at this foundation! This is just the beginning. Use me as you will."

It's easy for the foundation of my faith to be praise when everything in life is going the way I want it to go, but my prayer is that even in times of fear and uncertainty, I will continue to trust that God is sovereign, praising him for the beginnings.

That's my prayer for you too, friends. Know that the Lord loves you relentlessly and he is faithful to the end. Trust that he is sovereign, that he has a plan for your life way better than you could ever imagine. Praise him for where he has you now, because that is exactly where you are supposed to be.

With love,
Erin

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