Wholly Committed

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
              1 Peter 3:13-15a


Committment. It's a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many people. I believe that's why there are so many couples living together before marriage, or instead of getting married. Oh they say it's so they can "test drive" the relationship, but deep down, they are scared of being committed to someone.  Comittiment is easy when things in the relationship are going well, but I find it very interesting that so many couples who have "test drove" their relationship for many years, end up divorcing not long after the marriage license is signed.

And me in my self-rightous attitude used to think I was not afraid of committment. But as it says in Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

As the Proverbs 31 online study of What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst looked at Chapter 4 this week, Lysa dug deeper into the concept of radical obedience that I wrote about last week. And true to form, God is pinpointing the areas that I think I don't need to work on.  He is revealing to me how disobeying and falling short in one area of my life points back so closely to my committment level.

Why did I think for so long that I didn't have a committment problem? God is showing me that it's because I wasn't actually committing or obeying in the fulness that He requires.

So why is committing to God such a scary thing? Am I scared of getting physically or emotionally hurt? Scared of what others will think? Fear of the unknown? Peter addresses those reasons in the verses above. But he calls us to set our hearts apart Christ as Lord. And that is exactly what I think holds us back. At least it is for me.

It's the putting Christ and His ways as the only priority of my heart. And what exactly is my heart? In the Hebrew culture of the Bible, the heart was credited with being the center or core of a personality. It was the spiritual center and your life flowed from there. Your heart defines you, determines who you are, how you think, and what you do.  All of your emotions, motives and will come from your heart and it reflects your true identity.  That is why Proverbs 4:23 says to guard your heart above all else.

Our natural tendencies, or our sinful nature, doesn't want to be stifled or controlled by anything other than our wants and desires. And that's what makes being wholly committed to God scary to me, and so many others. And it's also why I believe so many people like to "test drive" their relationship with God. They don't want to be committed to Him in all areas of their heart because it might mean they have to give up something.

But being wholly committed to God is where I want to be. I want to be a woman who doesn't have to think twice about being wholly committed to God in every area of my heart.

What about you? Are you testing driving your relationship with God and holding back your heart from Him instead of setting it apart for Christ?

Radical Obedience

Prepare your mind for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you in holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
                1 Peter 1:13-16


What do you think of when I say the word radical? Do images of political rallies, planes crashing into buildings and riots pop into your head? Those are my first thoughts too. But today, I want to change your view of radical.

Do you know what the definition of radical is? It is favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions. And yes, in many instances it is a way to describe the examples in the above paragraph. But what if radical was a way to define your odedience to God?

This week in my study of What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst, I was challenged to live in radical obedience. At first I thought, "You've got to be kidding. Radical doesn't fit into my life. I've got kids to think about. And laundry. And dishes. And..." It was definelty a time when I said "Say what?"

But the more I thought about it and gleaned from other ladies taking this online bible study from Proverbs 31, the more I was convicted to turn towards radical obedience. You see, radical obedience is something that should define every Christian. We should be radically different from the world around us. Like the verses above from 1 Peter, we should be self-controlled, put our hope in Christ, not give in to evil desires and be holy. None of those remind me of the way the world lives.

But where am I on the obedience spectrum? Do I sway back and forth when it suits me?

My everyday life, as I described above, doesn't seem radical. And most would say that being radical as a mom isn't the best way to raise a family. But I think it's the best way to be a wife and mom. My family, above all others, should see that I live in radical obedience to God. They need to see that my life as a living example of the work of Christ. They need to see that living in radical obedience is not some hocus pocus, fruity-tooty way of living, but that its simply a way of turning everything I do into an opportunity for God to work in my life and the lives of those around me.

I have to be honest. I've had a really rough week. Between kids not listening, me having insomnia, back problems and housework that I can never seem to finish, I've felt very overwhelmed at times. And as I've written about before, my need to have everything appear perfect and in control gets out of control sometimes. But I know that Satan was trying to knock me to the ground because he doesn't like that I am doing this bible study and experience life changing biblical teaching. And it worked. He knocked me to my knees. But that is where I could best cry out to God and lift my open hands in surrender of my life. My home, my family, my need for approval, all that was surrendered to God. For me, it's radical surrender. It's not something that is a one time surrender, but a surrender I need to do every day in radical obedience to God.

So what is God calling you to surrender to Him in radical obedience? No, it won't be easy, but it will be freeing. As Lysa says in her book, "One thing you can be assured of is that God has already worked out all the details of what your obedience will accomplish--and it is good. We need not fear what our obedience will cause to happen in our life. We should only fear what our disobedience will cause us to miss."

Who's Driving?

Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, The Lord alone. And you must love The Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
           Deuteronomy 6:4&5  NLT

Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only! Love God, your God, with your whole heart; love Him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!
          Deuteronomy 6:4&5  MSG



Have you ever been a passenger in a vehicle with someone who is a really bad driver? If your riding in a taxi, you just hang on for dear life and pray you make it to your destination alive. But if it's a friend or family member, you might offer to take over for them, and cringe when they say "I'm an excellent driver! What's your problem?"

As I started digging into the verse of the week from my latest Proverbs 31 online bible study, "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God" by Lysa Terkeurst, a fellow study girlfriend used the analogy of God in the driver seat of our lives. I thought it was a fantastic and here's why.

In the verses in Deuteronomy that I have quoted above, Moses is calling for a commitment to The Lord from the children of Israel and telling them how to do this. He's telling them that nothing else can have their heart, give passion to their soul and fuel their strength. Later on in Deuteronomy, he details to them what will happen if the follow The Lord and what will happen if they don't.

I often get frustrated when reading passages like this in the Old Testament because I know that the nation of Israel strays from following The Lord.  They allow the gods of other nations to take the place of the one true God in their lives. Even after they experienced miracles, signs and the fulfillment of prophecy.

But yet as I get frustrated with God's people, He reminds me that I have not always let Him be in the driver's seat of my own life. I have allowed other gods a turn at the wheel. And by gods I mean selfishness, materialism, jealousy and so many more that I could list. I've let other things and people become my heart, passion and drive. I've worked off my own strength and not depended on Him.

So this is my question to myself, and you.

What do I need to get rid of in order for God to be the only driver in my life? And what's keeping me from doing that?

If I'm honest with myself, I'm afraid of what will happen. I'm afraid of what others will think. Will they make fun of me? Will I being thought of as being prideful? Arrogant? I'm afraid of where God will take me. But if Jesus did what God asked Him to do, and His obedience saved me, then I need to put God back in the drivers seat of my life.

Who is in your drivers seat?