Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

I think it's fair to say that my new favorite, two-word catch phrase is "radical obedience." Or maybe my life phrase? Or better yet, my God phrase. But what exactly does radical obedience mean? Sounds a little scary, a little "radical"?

In her book, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, author Lysa Terkeurst describes radical obedience as this - "Obedience becomes radical when we say, "Yes, God, whatever You want," and mean it. We release our grip on all we love and offer it back to Him, who loves us more. And it is into these upturned hands that God will pour out His blessings- His abundant, unexpected, radical blessings. Soon, saying yes to God will no longer be a discipline of your heart but rather the delight of your life." (Terkeurst, 53) Can I get an Amen! Wow! Can you even begin to imagine what a life of radical obedience looks like? Can you begin to get a glimpse of all that Christ wants for us when we simply admit that it's all His? Everything! Our  spouse, our kids, our time, our resources, our money, the big decisions, the small decisions, the mundane. Everything!

And while the very idea of radical obedience may seem foreign to so many, it should not be to followers of Jesus. When we chose to die to self and follow Him, our decision included surrender. And now from the love we have for all that He has done for us, the natural, overflow response of our hearts should be radical obedience. It should be.

But what keeps us from true surrender and radical obedience? You name it: selfishness, pride, control, bitterness, self-righteousness, etc. And the list goes on. The bottom line for all of us is sin. Uh-oh! There she goes using that sin word again. And while I realize that that word makes many people uncomfortable, that's the only word for it. We are sinners. But do you know the good news? The incredible awesome news that changes hearts and lives? Jesus! Through Him and Him alone, I can be radically obedient. After all, radical obedience has nothing at all to do with me and everything to do with Him.

Radical Obedience is not for the faint of heart. Saying "Yes" to God in everything and in all situations will promise to take you to a new level with God; a level where you've never been before. He'll stretch you. He'll challenge you. He'll ask you to do things that are contrary to your humanness and sinful nature. Are you ready? This is most likely where He'll lose many people. And for a long time, this is where He lost me.

I'm a Christ-follower. I believe that Jesus is who He says He is. I'm a member of Journey Church. I serve. I tithe. I strive to live a life pleasing to God. But when it came down to it, I still wasn't in complete surrender in all things at all times. I still wanted control. As they say, this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. And during this process, God has been working on me in ways that I never could have fathomed.

Canceling IVF was only the beginning. God's challenging Bob and I with how we spend our money. He's challenging us with how we spend our time. He's challenging us with our families and friendships and neighbors. He's challenging us to have an eternal perspective and vision.

"Our life will follow where we choose to focus our vision. If we are serious about radical obedience, about having having a vision that's God inspired, then we must keep our focus on Christ. When Christ speaks, me must listen. When He compels us to give, we must do so freely. When He reminds us to get past trivial matters, we must let our pride fall away. When He invites us to leave the world behind, we must follow Him." (Terkeurst, 119-120)

Are you willing to take on God's vision? Are you willing to say "Yes" to God?