Road Block:Radical Obedience

You’ve been here.  It looks like Christmas!  A long string of sparkly red lights, twinkling as far as the eye can see. With just a slight squint of your eyes, the blur of color streaks through the night sky.

But since it’s July and I hadn’t planned on taking a cruise through the neighborhood looking at lights, my internal voice is screaming, “What the heck?”

I had been cruising down the highway making good time, no troubles in sight. Until, out of nowhere, brake lights, like dominos begin to flash.

Traffic begins to slow. Soon we are crawling.

And, we have stopped.

I sit up tall trying to see over the tops of the cars ahead, hoping to catch a glimpse of what has caused this delay in MY schedule. 

The next time traffic takes it’s 10 inch creep forward, I steer my car a bit to the left to gather more critical information.

After all, if I know the cause of this mayhem, somehow, I have the power to magically make it disappear.  Ummm, I think we know the logic here is a bit lacking.

 But, somehow we all seem to “go there.”

The visibility ahead is poor, since the road has a sharp curve.  But as I near the bend of the highway, I see that there seems to be a construction crew.  As they motion the cars to pass, I can see a damaged section of a guardrail that could be a serious hazard and am now grateful they are on the scene.

Creeping forward, only a few more feet to the orange flag waving me on, I can certainly see why people were slowly passing this scene.

To my right, the orange lights atop the hazard barriers flash a sharp warning, stinging my eyes.  As I look beyond the orange and white-stripped barrels that protect the scene, I wonder at the tangle of paint scraped metal and say a short prayer for the person who must have run their car recklessly into this barrier.

As I turn my attention back to the road, I quickly swerve, hit my brakes and am surprised how close I have come to the flag and it’s operative.  She stands calmly near my window.  I was too distracted to see her, and I look closer.

Her head is low and her construction hat has shadowed her face. Slowly, she lifts her chin and now I see clearly.

To my surprise, as the visor to her hardhat rises from view, the face is all too familiar.

The worker who set up the road barrier…

The safety engineer who I believed was protecting me from harm…

The worker under the construction hat…

To my surprise, the woman holding the flag is me.

In Chapter 3 of What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, by Lysa TerKeurst, I am challenged by the following question:

Is there something that stirred in your heart as you read this chapter that God might be leading you to give up either permanently or for a season?

What is holding you back from doing this?

And even more so, the quote:

“We need not fear what our obedience will cause to happen in our life.  We should only fear what our disobedience will cause us to miss.”

I began to list several small things; easy things.

But then God…

Doesn’t He always do that!

He interrupted my small list and asked me to go bigger.  He reminded me that I had been praying for a better marriage.  And then He told me to list things that I could give up for my marriage.

            Selfishness

            Pride

            Fear of vulnerability

            Fear of rejection

God asked me to give up my activity, my "busy-ness, and the time committed to what ever I was “in to” the moment my husband came home; to put him first.  I am to give my husband attention and honor.

Ephesians 5:33

I will respect and revere my husband (notice him regard him, honor him, prefer him, venerate & esteem him, praise him, love him and admire him exceedingly).       Amplified

But then God told me that I was the “road block” to my own prayers!

Tears flooded!  I was stunned.  I stopped everything.

And then I wrote in my book:

“I am missing out on God’s best; a better marriage – which I have prayed for.  I am the road block to my own prayer being answered.”

There was nothing left to say.  God is always right, no matter how much it hurts my heart to admit.

But the comfort of Isaiah 41:13 will guide me,

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear, I will help you.”

What I found most comforting about that verse this morning, was that I wrote my list of things to give up, which included two fears.  And that is exactly what this verse addressed.

God knows my days and what I need each and every moment.

He had that verse tucked in this book, waiting for me today!  I am blessed.

Lord, today I commit to you that I will take off the hard hat, drop the orange flag, remove the barriers that are a hazard to my marriage.

I have committed to put You first.  But I have not put my husband above myself and my pride.  I will let go of myself and give him the best of me.

I will be the answer to my prayers!  Thank You, Lord for opening my eyes through Your word and Your Holy Spirit.

I love You, Lord!

In Jesus precious name,

Amen.