A Devotional Thought...

LIBERATED OBEDIENCE or a

QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE?

If something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.        ~ Jill Briscoe

Thank you Jill Briscoe for saving my life! 

Have you ever sent a child to Kindergarten and told them they had to do it all right?  Did you   inadvertently communicate that they should achieve the entire year’s curriculum in one day or there was just no point in going? 

What about taking a new baby home from the hospital?  You and I were both instant experts right? Chortle. 

Or have you ever started a new job and tried to never mess anything up?  Nothing like new turf to make you feel two inches tall!  I recently started a new job that involves balancing deposits and     filing.  Numbers and letters, how hard could this be? Well lets just say that it is harder than it looks.  And then three months into it I suddenly can’t  remember how to open the safe!  I had to, brace yourself, GO, ASK FOR HELP!  The Horror!  And much to my chagrin I needed help the next time I went to work too.  But my co-worker      patiently walked me through it a second time and now all is right with the world. 

In all of the examples above Jill’s quote proves true.  I can’t just quit school because it doesn’t come easy the first day.  I can’t stop raising my child because I don’t know what they need when they cry.  And I most certainly can’t run home crying in a panic when the safe won’t open. 

Most of life is worth doing regardless of the    results.  That is the most liberating sentence ever  uttered.  Now I can obey what God asks of me even when I know I can’t do it perfectly.  I can move forward even if it means I must humble   myself and ask for help. 

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?  Or am I trying to please man?  If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.  ~ Galatians 1:10 ESV  

Are you holding back from teaching a Sunday school class because you have never done it      before?  What about hosting a Bible study in your home?  Is inviting a new couple home for lunch after church just a bit too intimidating? 

Let me ask you a simple question.  Are those things worth doing?  Then do them and if you must, ask for help to get the job done. 

I also want to flip this idea around and challenge us to help others do what God has called them to do.  Many times we recognize a calling in someone else’s life and see that they are not brave enough to begin.  Offer to help them achieve what is worth doing in their life!  That is how Blossom Ministries was born.  I had a calling to Women’s Ministries and I had shared that calling with a friend.  She had the faith in me and my calling  and the bravado I was lacking.  The rest; as they say, is history .  Nine years later...many, many friends have partnered with me along the way,  giving me confidence to start the newest thing God has called Blossom to do.  Without their  partnership Blossom would just be an ideal and not a reality. 

Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward.  [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).                               ~ Colossians 3;23-24 AMP

 What most often holds us back from obedience is a fear of a lack of results.  When you ask a child to make their bed you expect obedience, not military corners.  The same is true with God.  I urge you as I urge myself to obey for the sake of obedience.  Do the task because it has value not because you feel qualified.  And always be willing to ask for help!

~ Devote some thought to that...Melisa Turner