Encouragement

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Wednesday nights are prayer nights at church. We always begin with praising the LORD through song, and ease into the prayer portion of the service. Singing praises to the KING is one of my favorite things to do!! The song, the emotion, the lyrics. I cannot describe how my heart opens to Him as I lift His name higher and higher.

This past Wednesday, however, I had a much different experience with praising the Lord...

I found myself silent.

It wasn't because I had nothing to praise Him for, or that the desire had left me. I found myself in a place of quiet... required by the Lord. I was confused at the request my God had made... wanting to question His reasons for this... and I did. Silently. The questioning didn't last long, as He was quick to reveal His reasoning behind this muted state.

In the days/weeks prior to this day, I had done a lot of praying... a lot of praising... I had been obedient to the Lord in regards to the encouragement of friends and family. I had spoken the Word of God over those who came to my mind, and I was exhausted. (This is NOT the reason for the silence... it is simply background for what the Lord would reveal to me.)

You see... I had been praying... aloud, singing praises... aloud, and chatting up my friends... aloud. On this particular day, the Lord needed me to close my mouth and speak with my heart.

It wasn't that God didn't want to hear my petitions or my songs of praise... He wanted me to speak/sing with my heart... and only my heart... To concentrate on the words I was singing. To allow my heart to 'bleed' my petitions to Him... without the use of my mouth. He wanted to FEEL my pleas, and my praise.

Trust me when I say... I always have a lot to say!! You can ask anyone who knows me! This was a very difficult task, as I so desperately wanted to vocalize my love for my Jesus. In this particular case... it was supposed to be made tangible to the Lord through an open heart, and a silent tongue. This, however, was not the only reason for the silence...

The greatest reason for this lull in voice is simple... OBEDIENCE.

You see, I have been obedient in many areas of this life. Complying with the Lord's requests of prayer, praise, and encouragement. When the Lord requires me to fast, I fast. When He requires me to give encouragement, I encourage. When He requires me to go and do... I go and do... TO AN EXTENT. Is this pleasing to the Lord?? I don't think so.

Deuteronomy 28:1 says, "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on the earth."

I do not consider it coincidence that the LORD used the word 'FULLY' in this passage!! You see, I happen to know that God chose/chooses His words carefully... every one placed where it belongs to best encourage us in our walk with Him. If HE wanted us to be eighty percent obedient, He would have said so. If He wanted us to give half of ourselves, He would have said so. If His desire was for us to live a convenient, comfortable life... He would have said so!! HE DIDN'T!! He said, 'Give it all! All of yourself. All of your time. All the time!! Be obedient in what I ask you to do, and you will be blessed!'

I'm not sure that expected blessing is the reason to be obedient to the LORD. I'm quite certain it's not. It's my feeling that we are to be fully obedient... because HE IS GOD... plain and simple.

Several questions:

*Is being obedient 'on occasion', when it's convenient and comfortable, what the Lord desires? No... being obedient to God is something we are to do all of the time. Eighty percent obedience is not 'full obedience'... which, in effect is disobedience.

*How quick are you to jump when the Lord says it's time? In my case... not often enough. (I'm working on this.)

*Would it have been enough for the Lord to have given you 'partial grace'?? Imagine where we'd be today if this were the case... I'm feeling a great sense of conviction pondering this one!!

What are your thoughts?

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