After writing my post from yesterday, I received quite a few messages expressing either concern or encouragement or both. If you haven’t read the post, this one won’t make much sense, so go here and read it. Really, go ahead. I’ll wait.

Done? Okay.

Now, after the messages I received, I feel compelled to make a bit of a departure from the norm and clarify a few things if you’ll indulge me.

First, there is nothing wrong with my current life. NOTHING. I’m quite content with it, as a matter of fact. I’ve been blessed to a crazy degree (at least from where I’m sitting), with an exceptional husband, two wonderful adult daughters, a great son-in-law, and three grandchildren who knock my socks off every day. We live in a place that feels like heaven to me, with a menagerie of canine, feline and equine pets. I’m getting to be a part of my husband’s and oldest daughters’ dearest dream coming true as we begin to open our therapeutic riding facility, Hope for the Trail. Things at home are really, really good.

I feel like I’m making a difference for the Kingdom, through some young women I mentor on a regular basis. And, this little blog is an outlet, as well, for God to use the love of words He’s given me to reach people I know, and those I’ll never meet.

However, even with a whole lot of good going on, sometimes God asks us to step out further. I can say from personal experience that sometimes He is relentless about it, but I also think the relentless part comes only when we are hem-hawing around with our obedience. It’s sort of like asking your kid 272 times to clean their room, when it could’ve just been one time if they’d immediately obeyed.

Basically, I’ve been that kid. Except I’ve tried to appease God by sort of doing what He’s asked. I’ve picked up the toys on the floor, so to speak, and just shoved them under the bed to make the room appear clean. Here’s the thing:

Partial obedience is disobedience.

God didn’t ask me to put the toys under the bed. He asked me to clean my room. He asked me to step out of my comfortable, content, and happy place, and go further with Him. And I’ve been afraid to do that because I like my comfortable. I like my safe and cozy. I like my predictable.

However, through my partial obedience and God’s relentless response, something’s begun to happen. I’m beginning to feel a restlessness in my heart. I’m starting to feel the tiniest burgeoning of discontent, but not with my life. I’m starting to feel discontent with my desire for safe and comfortable and predictable. Because…

At the end of the day, do I really want predictable?

God is ever-calling us to more abundant life. We often think our life is as good as it’s likely to get, but He’s always calling us to more. Not to more riches or grander living, but to fuller life in and through Him. Thankfully, He’s always ready to take wonderful ordinary life into the extreme extraordinary if we’ll follow. It seems there really is benefit in cleaning that room after all; there’s less to trip us up in our walk on the wild side with an anything-but-predictable God.

A very wise woman once told me that

To get to the next level, you have to step off of the one you’re on.

That, guys and gals, is where I am. And that’s what yesterday’s post was about.

Thank you for listening.

“A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” John 10:10 MSG

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” Philippians 4:13 AMP

“Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land…” Deuteronomy 6:18 NLT

“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!” Psalm 112:1 ESV

“I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments.” Psalm 119:60 ESV