“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”-1 John 5:3 ESV
As a mom, have you ever felt like you’ve been “Sunday School” smacked across the face!? Let me explain… Sometimes, life lessons have been REALLY difficult for me to learn, and then I feel The Lord take my hand and walk me to class! He’s so good at teaching me this way.
Lately, I’ve spent so much time struggling to get my daughter to obey, trying to get her to listen and follow directions right away, that HUGE power struggles have resulted. Maybe you also feel me on this one!!
One day, God smacked me upside the head with this question, “Do you obey Me and follow Me because you’re afraid of consequences or disappointing Me, OR do you obey Me because you simply love Me?” Put a fork in me. I’m done! At that moment, He showed me I was approaching this “parenting struggle” all wrong! I wanted quick results from “do what I say NOW!” but it wasn’t creating the kind of loving obedience produced by being in a relationship with her. What I desired to impart to my daughter was, “TRUST me to know what is best for you! Trust that we love you so much that we have your best interest at heart, child!”
Obedience requires absolute trust in the person who needs something of you. Just like I follow Jesus because of His great love for me and my faith in Him, I want her to do the same with us as well! The most outstanding example of obedience from love was when Jesus followed His Father’s lead unto the point of death on the cross. Jesus did not have all the answers as to why God would ask this of Him and why it had to happen in this way, but He had absolute trust in His Father because He understood His great love for us and willingly died on the cross for our sins (Matt 26:36-46).
Let me ask you, friends, what motivates you to obey God? This question was a great heart check for me! In my past, I followed Him out of religious duty, much like the result my daughter gave me when she obeyed because I demanded it. However, we have been given the freedom to choose to follow Jesus! When we walk and grow, we begin to see the reward & blessing of life following His lead! We then readily agree and align with His plans for simple everyday things to significant life-changing events.
Mama, The Father, is imploring you to simply trust Him because He loves you. Following Him should not feel like a burden! Our obedience must always come from a place of love for Him. Only then will we find it easy to trust, submit and surrender to God’s Will.
Rae Moomey & The Help Club for Moms Team
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