Obedience: Thank God for Grace

​"All my words fall short, I have nothing new. How can I express all my gratitude..."
- Brandon Lake

My gaze has been set upon the Lord. I am not held down by guilt or shame. I am forever grateful for the Lord's grace to grow. The Lord's strength has carried me through difficulties. His love has caused the walls of my own solitude to crumble. I am never alone! I am worth it and so are you!

I grew up in church. Though the Lord wasn't always dwelling inside of me, I knew how real He was. I learned the stories of Jonah and the whale and Noah on the Ark but, I didn't understand how important they would be in my own life. If anything I was blown away at the fact that the animals were always obedient in these biblical stories. 

Man kind has always had a horrible time with obedience. Eve takes of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, then gives this same fruit to Adam to eat. Both Adam and Eve knew to obey the command of the Lord. Now, the serpent did deceive them both but they still had the choice of obedience or disobedience.

To further my thoughts on obedience and disobedience, I am reminded of Israel as a whole. They walked in the wilderness for 40 years because of their disobedience. When they could of chosen obedience and entered into the promises of God shortly after leaving the place that enslaved them.

It has always been disobedience that has caused us to lose something. Adam and Eve lost their soul that day due to disobedience. Israel many times lost their promises of inheritance because of their disobedience. Jonah's disobedience caused him to be swallowed by a whale until he became obedient again. 

Do you see the pattern here? Disobedience will cause us a whole lot of hardship. Obedience on the other hand brings us favor, blessings, and inheritance. I thank God for His grace though. Without it, we do not stand a chance to right our wrongs and become who God created us to be. 

This was the missing link when I was younger. I understood Jesus was King but I did not understand why I needed Him as my King. I spent years falling into the traps that Satan placed before me. These traps caused depression, anxiety, fear, low self esteem, bitterness, and hatred. I became less like who God created me to be and more like what the world wanted me to be.

We are children of the Most High God. He is our Heavenly Father who will do all that He can to protect us. Just as a child needs an earthly parent, we also need a heavenly Father. Knowing Him as my King is knowing that I am loved beyond measure. Satan can not take Gods love away from me. I need the Lord's strength daily. I need His peace to cover me and His joy to be an overflow. My King goes to battle for me. And He brings justice to the one's who have been done unjustly by Satan. 

Again, I must say, I thank God for grace. It was grace that Noah found in the eyes of the Lord. That is why he was not destroyed alongside those who were disobedient. It was grace that God showed Jonah in the belly of the whale. It was grace that God had shown Moses on the behalf of Israel. And it is grace that God has shown you and I so that we can grow into our God given purpose. 

Revelation 22:21 NKJV — The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Karlee Moore