Laughing Jesus by Robert Wilson, Sr.
I don’t know why I don’t always follow His lead. I don’t know why I dare to question, or ignore, or put off responding. After all, I’ve experienced a lot of years walking with the Lord, some more closely than others.
But it wasn’t until recently that I realized I can look back on my many years and see that some of my most life-changing, spiritual-growth events came as a result of things I didn’t want to do.
For instance, way back in 1997, I didn’t want to share my marriage testimony with the women of my church. These women saw me as an upstanding Christian woman who had a long, happy marriage and who loved their kids. They didn’t know about how I had bulldozed my way through the first 15 years of my marriage. They hadn’t seen the dangerous repercussions of that experience. They didn’t know that event had propelled me to submit to the Father and seek to change who I was.
They didn’t know . . . and I liked it that way.
When God told me in 1997 that I had to share that experience with my church friends, I was quick to let Him know exactly what I thought about His great idea. It was a plain and simple “No way!”
I won’t go through all the gory details, but I’ll just say that His details were miraculous, parting-of-the-sea, a line-in-the-sand moment I couldn’t ignore. And I will say God took me kicking and screaming into women’s ministry through that experience. My life has never been the same. (If you’re interested, you can read about those details here and here.)
So, what if I had never obeyed, albeit defiantly? What if I had stuck to my guns, kept my secret, and never come clean? I don’t know that the world would be that much different, but I sure would be. I would have missed out on close to 20 years of serving Him as a Christian speaker.
I would have missed out on a lot.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
What about you? Are you hearing His voice, but saying no? Are you standing your ground, defying His plan for your life?
You could be missing out on a lot.
I pray God’s blessing on the work of your hands and your hearts,
Vonda
