I’ve been reading this book lately, “Holier Than Thou” by Jackie Hill Perry. This week one sentence stuck out to me, and not even in the context that she used it, but reading that sentence sparked a thought that I’ve started processing and wanted to share.
The mouth reveals what the heart holds.
Jackie Hill Perry (Holier Than Thou, 28)
If the mouth reveals what the heart holds, what does it mean when the mouth is quiet? If we are quiet when the Lord tells us to speak, what then? If we don’t move or act when the Lord gives us direction, what then?
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
James 4:17
What does it say about us if we are directed to speak or share something from the Lord, but we don’t. Do we have pride, rebellion, and or disobedience? What if it’s a big change He is asking us to make, something different than expected, or a hard word to share with someone? Is it then fear, doubt, or unbelief that is keeping us from disobedience?
I have been pursuing career appointment as a missionary for a while. I am in my first step as a missionary associate and have done all the paperwork and meetings to attend the next set of interviews to be fully appointed. I had my interview with my district and during that, it was decided that I would stay in my currently location and extend my term by 6 months to aid the district in timing of people home for itineration. This is NOT the news I wanted, and I was VERY disappointed. However, as is custom in my walk with the Lord, He confirmed this decision through a dream. So, I had a choice. Either I walk in obedience and humble myself under the authority He has put in place and extend my term or I walk in disobedience, burn bridges, and have things “my way”. I’m still in the middle of walking out the obedience part, please don’t think I’ve somehow “arrived”. But I chose obedience, I am here and I will serve in whatever capacity the Lord asks me to for however long He allows me. If I would have pushed for “my way” I would have burned bridges with my district, pastors, the field, and walked in direct obedience to the Lord.
Do we trust the Lord to lead and guide us?
Pride, rebellion, disobedience, fear, doubt, unbelief. None of these things are from the Lord.
So, what do we do? What’s next? You may ask, cool, you just called out a whole bunch of things and now I feel awful.
Walk in the Spirit. Surrender it to the Lord.
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 5:16-26
Surrender it to Jesus. There is grace for our “pride rebellion, disobedience, fear, doubt, unbelief, insert other word here”. But if we don’t deal with these things and leave them at His feet, His voice and the prompting that we hear will be farther and farther, quieter and quieter.
If we are so close to the Lord, then hear Him say something we don’t want to do or hear and take a step away in disobedience. It is us who moved away from Him, not Him away from us. If we continually do this, we will find we are far away from Him and unable to hear His voice. When we are side by side, His voice, His whisper, His prompting is noticeable, and we are able to hear even if things around us are loud. But if we’ve moved far away, we won’t hear that “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13) because we are too far away to discern.
My question for you today, and what I would encourage you to reflect on with the Lord is; what has the Lord asked of you? Why do you hesitate? What is the root of that hesitation? I would also encourage you to read James and Galatians 5.