The Dilemma Of Obedience

Just last night in a ladies' prayer meeting that my sister has at her house on Monday nights, we were talking about the devotional My Utmost for His Highest, which was on my sister's end table. This led to discussion of the contents of one of my older posts about obeying God despite the costs. Then today, I pulled that book out again and read today's date and low and behold, it was the exact same topic.

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"God's call to you may hurt your 'Eli'; but if you try to prevent the suffering in another life, it will prove an obstruction between your soul and God. It is at your own peril that you prevent the cutting of of the right hand or the plucking out of the eye.

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Never ask the advice of another about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask advice, you will nearly always side with Satan."

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If this doesn't describe a hard lesson I have learned in the last few years, I don't know what does.

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If I could give one piece of advice to parents, it would be this. Take the time to seek the Lord in the decisions regarding your kids. Close the door and go into your "prayer closet". Then humbly follow that leading no matter what price you have to pay or who you have to offend - loss of friends, family, church, reputation is nothing compared to obedience to God. He can handle all of the details and He is worthy to be trusted. He has definitely shown Himself faithful to us.

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I once heard a man preach about the verse "The joy of the Lord is my strength." He rearranged the words like this - The Lord's joy is my strength. Obeying Him and experiencing the blessings of His joy have definitely given me strength. All other earthly approval or disapproval pales by comparison.

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While flipping through that book, my eyes fell on a last line of a day's writing:

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Keep paying the price. Let God see that you are willing to live up to the vision.

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Like many I know of, we have had a vision for the raising of our kids, a calling for some higher purpose, not just for our own pleasure and enjoyment. There is a price to pay for that vision. I thank God that there are some who are willing to pay it. I thank God that He is the strength that we can draw from. Let's not neglect to pray for each other, even for those whose names we do not know, for it is not easy and many grow weary and give up.