Obedience.
The submitting of your will to another's will.
As a strong-willed child (and adult), I've had my fair share of lectures and lessons on obedience. My desire is to obey, but when I get an idea in my head, it doesn't budge without considerable effort, regardless of a desire to obey. I still thank God I didn't send my poor mother to the hospital for stress when raising me.
But as an adult, I've grown closer to Christ, and I thought obedience was getting easier. It's usually easy for me to obey Jesus, because I trust Him and know my obedience is necessary for me to grow in Him. But obey humans in authority over me?
Yeah, right.
I'm a strong, independent woman! I'll obey when I can logically agree with you, but if what you're telling me to do makes no sense or goes against what I feel needs to be done, sometimes all thoughts of obedience go out the window. Sayonara!
And then this month happened. Most of you who know me personally know that I love my camera, love shooting photography and video, and love sharing my experiences through a visual art. So when our contact requested that we not take any pictures or video in the village while we were prayer walking, I initially balked. What in the world? It's just some pictures and video! I need to show my supporters and friends what I've been doing this month! I want to show them a visual of Romania!
Then God gently whispered, "obedience." Okay, well maybe He yelled it cause I ignored it the first couple times, but He whispered it initially. When I finally consented to listen, He reminded me that obeying Him sometimes doesn't make sense, but it is always beneficial and important. And right now, He wants me to obey Him by obeying our contact. He reminded me that I'll have other opportunities to show off this beautiful country, and that I should be truly focused on prayer walking. He's called me to pray for this area, and He wants my focus to be on that, rather than photography and videography. So every day I leave my camera at home. It's never easy, but I know it's worth it.
