Will You Do It Anyway?

What if serving God didn’t look the way we thought it would? We were always told that if it’s God’s calling you to do something, you will know it by the peace in your heart. We were also taught that you wouldn’t be blessed unless you did it with a merry heart, right? Don’t give if your hearts not in it, because you won’t be blessed anyway….hmmm…what if serving God had nothing to do with our comfort or blessing? What if He called us to do something that was completely contrary to our nature? What if He tested our love for Him in such a radical way that it went against everything that made us feel comfortable or even happy?

What if your kids obeyed you just because they know it would bless you? They get up in the morning and against everything they feel like doing, they're tired and a little grumpy, but they clean their room and make their bed because they love their parents so much that they just want bless them… a little farfetched right? Well that's the way God looks at us, will you do it just because pleasing Me means more to you than pleasing your own flesh? What if your passion and love for Jesus meant more to you than comfort?

There was a season in our own lives that God asked us to care for some people that were in a dark and abusive situation. This went on for several months and I've got to tell you, every day that I was on my way to care for their needs, I wept because I knew the anger that would spew from them and that they didn't appreciate what we were doing. They never had a clue, I'd wipe the tears and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen me and show His love through me. It was a painful and difficult season, but we knew we were called to do it! Though during that process, we really saw no fruit and we certainly did not feel blessed by it…these are now some of our greatest relationships and the fruit of it is very evident in their lives. They were eternally transformed by the goodness and love of God. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!! All for His glory!

I often think about the woman I’ve told you about who was called to the Gourmet Pizza Parlor, that my mother owned. Though my mother was far from God, raised in a Muslim home, and had a hatred for Christians, this woman came in there each week to talk to her about Jesus. My mother would yell at her and throw her out…but little by little she began to listen to what she had to say. Behind the scenes, this woman would fast and pray for the salvation of our family…even though she was rejected and abused, she didn’t give up. Why? Because it was what God had called her to do. Her obedience to God meant more than respect, honor, comfort, and blessing. Because of her faithfulness, one day the walls to my mother’s hard heart cracked wide open and the rest is history. Our family all came to Jesus and thousands have subsequently come to the Lord because one woman’s faithfulness against all human odds. What if comfort and blessing would have won over obedience and faithfulness?

What if Jesus despising the pain of the cross told God, “This can't be you, because it doesn't feel good! It’s too uncomfortable and painful, you couldn't possibly be asking me to do this!” Yet, what He did was the greatest gift to mankind! The salvation of our souls, freedom from hell, and a relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

Public speaking and writing was never my choice. I hated publicly sharing my heart and faults to be scrutinized by others. When I first started my groups, I received much opposition and the only thing worse than opposition is PUBLIC OPPOSITION! There was a season where I wanted to give up…it wasn’t easy or comfortable for me. I had to write what the Spirit was telling me to say, not what people wanted to hear and it stirred something in some that rose up against me. The decision had to be made…will I obey and do His will no matter what? Will fear and insecurity keep me from taking the path God has designed for my life? Yes, there’s a testing time, but if you’ll hang there….persevere through every twist and turn…one day the purpose unfolds and you begin to see it through His eyes instead of your own and His ways are so much greater than our limited view of serving Him.

What if we just chose to obey without any thought about our own gain…just for His glory!? What if in that coffee shop today, He called you across the room to tell a person about how much Jesus loves them? Seems weird, uncomfortable, and contrary to the comfort of our flesh, yet there's a soul waiting to hear the voice of God in their own lives... right there... on the other side of the room. They may have just told God that if He didn't reveal His love today, they'd take their life, and He strategically placed you in their path.

Yeah... serving God doesn't always come naturally or feel comfortable, but the important thing is.... will you do it anyway?

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Matthew 16:24-25 (TPT) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways. For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep."

Isaiah 53:12 (NKJV) Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.